Drops of Her Blood
by Miyuki-Chan5
Summary: The final battle is done at last. Kagome is gravely injured up to a point almost near death. Inuyasha, having no other choice, takes her deep into the forest where nobody can reach them. Will he be able to deal with his fear of losing his only hope?
1. Don't

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Viz, Yomiuri TV, and etc.

**A/**N: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER 1.

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Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 1

Don't Die

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"Kagome! You can't die on me! Don't tell me that you really were a stupid weak human!" He shouted angrily at her limp body, clutching her up to his chest.

She said nothing.

Inuyasha's face paled as he almost desperately groped the side of her face for any warmth or pulse. There was none. Her body uselessly dangled in his arms as he prodded her body.

"Inuyasha… We better get her to Kaede's." Miroku reminded him, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Keh." he mumbled, grimacing at the sight of Kagome.

He took the complete Shikon No Tama out of her open hands, and put it in his haori for safekeeping. He didn't want anybody looking at her, because her shirt had almost burned off when Naraku proceeded to kill her by reflecting some of her arrows and energy balls.

Inuyasha ran off, leaving Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippou behind and entered the forest, trying to escape from them.

"Inuyasha! Where are you going?" Sango frowned and stopped Kirara and the group.

"Don't follow me!" He yelled back, and disappeared into the forest. His grip on Kagome was tighter than ever and he started to slow down when he found an abandoned hut.

There were a couple of burnt down trees, and he knew by the scent that a few months ago, there was a very small forest fire. But the hut was almost untouched, even though there were very mild burns on the sides.

He slid open the wooden door, and left a slit of space open, for some sunlight. He quickly scanned his surroundings, and spotted a futon that was in fairly good condition for sleeping in. The only problem was that there was only one futon. But he hadn't planned on leaving Kagome by herself. She was in a bad condition, barely hanging on to life, and he wasn't going to leave her alone.

He had brought Kagome's arrows and backpack with them, and searched through her backpack for some clean clothes and some matches. He found an extra blanket, some of her modern clothes that wasn't her uniform, two matchboxes, and some bandages.

He laid Kagome into the bed, and checked for breathing and a pulse. Her breathing was ragged and her pulse was almost nonexistent. He dug through the remaining items in her pack and found the first aid box that she had used on him and everyone else when they were injured.

He tried, and tried, and tried. But the lid wouldn't open. He got annoyed, and ripped the lid off. "Stupid damn future contraptions," he muttered, pulling the disinfectant and bandages out of the box.

He had seen Kagome dress the others with the bandages and also himself. She treated him with the most care, since he normally got the worst wounds. So first, he removed her shirt, or what was left of it…

He blushed, but it quickly faded away as he hastily grasped the disinfectant and began to spray it all over her wounds, bruises and all. He saw her wince in pain and held her, whispering incoherent apologies to her.

Kagome soon relaxed, and snuggled into his haori, gathering his warmth. He laid her head down onto the pillow again, and began to wrap the bandages around her torso. After she practically looked like half of a mummy, he tied the bandages and proceeded on.

---

Inuyasha began to cook some of the deer he had just hunted for, and was roasting it outside, leaving the door slightly open so he could see her in case she was in pain.

Sighing, he turned the stick slightly, roasting each side perfectly. When he just remembered that Kagome liked eating with plates and chopsticks, he left the deer to cook, and went into the hut again, to get her utensils.

He opened the door and rummaged through her backpack again. Pulling out what he thought looked like the plate with the cats on it, he grabbed the chopsticks too. That's when he heard a moan. "Inu-y-yasha." She murmured, shifting over to her side.

"Don't move!" He ran over to her side, and flipped her over again.

"What? Inuyasha? When did I get these bandages? Shippo? Where are you? Miroku-sama? Sango-chan?" Kagome began to worry, and sat up, groaning, and laid back down in pain.

"The others aren't here." He said, grumbling curses that he ever took her here.

"I.." He began…

- - -

**Author's Note:**

This chapter has been edited. It hasn't changed much though.

Enjoy.

- Miyuki-Chan5


	2. Healing

Hey! I'm back. I might make this story a bit angsty.. Not sure. Nah.. Maybe not. I don't like readers to be disappointed. Ne? But I have a craving to read a lot of angsty stories.. I have read a couple so far, and I trying to read more, for some ideas. So anyways, I was so surprised with the amount of reviews! Thank you! I'm sorry for the wait, I was so busy in school. So, on with the story!  
  
Warning- Fluff! Don't forget to brush your teeth after!  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em!  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Healing Session  
  
"I.." He began, blushing in the process. "Yes Inuyasha?" Kagome glanced weakly up at him.  
  
"Umm.. Nothing.. Don't worry about it." He sighed, and slapped himself for not telling her the truth. When he heard no response, he glanced back at her and she was sleeping again, exhausted.  
  
"No.. Kagome! You have to eat. Wake up.." He shook her very gently, hoping not to reopen any of her wounds.  
  
She fluttered her eyelashes and apologized, "Sorry Inuyasha. I couldn't help myself."  
  
"Stay here.. I'll bring your food." She nodded and closed her eyes again. She wasn't sleeping, but she wasn't fully awake either.  
  
He soon came into the hut, with her plate of deer. He knew she couldn't eat by herself, just yet, so he ripped the deer with his claws and held her head, giving her servings of deer with the chopsticks.  
  
She rested in his large hands, and received the meat greedily, chewing it happily. He watched her slowly eat, and watched as the meat from the plate was quickly disappearing into smaller portions with each minute.  
  
Very soon after, the whole plate of deer was gone. "Thank you.. Inuyasha." Kagome smiled, and closed her eyes.  
  
Before he could reply, he heard her breathing relax, and she snuggled into the futon, gathering some of his hand's warmth. He sighed, and went back outside, to eat.  
  
Later  
  
Inuyasha yawned sleepily, and walked into the hut, stretching his aching limbs. He lifted the covers and then remembered that she was naked under there, except for the bandages covering her. He hadn't bothered to put her extra clothes on her, because he wasn't familiar with the attire.  
  
Pulling his inner haori off, for his outer one was now being occupied by Kagome, he folded them and set them near the door. He removed Tessaiga from his hakama sash, and pulled it from its sheath, and stuck it into the ground, to guard the door.  
  
He opened the futon covers and slid in with her, and cradled her to his chest, offering his body warmth. This wasn't an act of anything sexual; it was a special bonding, between Kagome and Inuyasha. He knew that he had wanted to do this, but had hesitated before when a situation like this was present.  
  
Knowing that she couldn't hear or know that he was doing this, he brushed the bangs away from her face and kissed her forehead. He gazed at her facial features for a second and traced the lining of her face with the tip of claw. He made sure that he didn't cut her, because his claws were very sharp.  
  
For one second, he had thought he saw a small smile on her lips, but he shook his head, knowing that she was asleep, and not knowing that he was doing this.  
  
But little did he know, that she was just pretending, and from the corner of her almost closed lids, she peeked out on what he was doing. 'Inuyasha.' She thought, almost smiling at the thought but thought better, and didn't. To surprise him a bit, she snuggled into his bare chest, and brushed her lips slightly across, hearing his whimper of sheer pleasure.  
  
She smiled on his chest, her face pressed against his warm skin. "I know. Kagome." He whispered, and brushed his hand through her hair. She gasped. "Inu.." She started to say.  
  
(I was going to end it here, but I don't want any complaints or whines like last time! Just kidding.. You guys weren't complaining. So anyways, I won't end it here, so I'm not being evil. Okay? Yay! Happy reviewers!)  
  
"Don't talk.. You're still injured." He said, gazing into her chocolate brown eyes. "But.." She started again.  
  
He brought his fingertips to her lips and silenced her, touching her lips gently. "Kagome.. Stop." Inuyasha pressed his own lips over hers, and kissed her lightly. It wasn't a kiss full of passion but of a small gentle kiss. She blushed a fairly bright red and closed her eyes.  
  
"It's nice to see you're healing." He brushed a finger over her reddened cheeks. "Inuyasha. Am I naked under here?" She asked suddenly, moaning in pain as she shifted position.  
  
Now it was his turn to redden, and he said nothing, but knew he had to say something. He had bandaged her two times in the past seven hours, and saw everything, but had wrapped her in his outer haori for her modesty.  
  
"Uh. Well, yeah." He said nervously, wondering how many sits she would give him when she was totally healed. "You saw everything?" She was even more embarrassed than before and she turned bright red from head to toe. "Keh! I had no fucking choice! Your shirt was burned off for fucking sake! Don't you think that other contraption under there would've burned too?" He turned a brighter red and huffed.  
  
"Inuyasha.. Please.. Can you not yell today? I have a bad enough headache already.." She buried her aching forehead into his chest, and exhaled, emitting hot breath onto his skin.  
  
He shivered from the sudden feeling of her hot breath hitting his chest. "Kagome.." He said, trying to get her attention, but found out she had fallen asleep. "Wench." He whispered into her ear, and grinned. Cradling her body to fit with his, he put a arm around her upper back, his hand reaching to her side. His other hand was near her bosom, and to top it all off, he buried his neck into her hair. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
YAY!!! I finished the chapter. It was a bit fluffy, I think it's really bad though.. This chapter. I'm bad at fluff! Read my other stories, you'll know.. Ok, so, I'm working on rewriting Down With A Cold, and also, I'm changing the title to Bed Ridden. I mean, Down With A Cold is an original title, but Bed Ridden sounds much better. Ne? Well, tell me if I should change it.. SO anyways, I'm so sorry that you had to wait a long time. I promise that I'll try to update sooner, but don't get ya hopes up! Hehe.. Anyways, I'm still working on My Sassy Girlfriend chapter 6, so, it might not come out till maybe next week. Gomen ne! Okay, so, I gotta go work on chapter 6, so..  
  
Ja ne!  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	3. Time To Change Your Bandages!

Hi! I'm back, with chapter three! Wow, they go by so fast. Anyways, I hope you liked this story; it'll probably end with about 10 chapters. Still a lot to go! Hum. Well, of course, it'll go by slowly, because of how busy I'm going to be. I've joined the Multi-Cultural club in my school, and I'll be busier because of that, and also I've joined our school paper. So, I'll be typing up articles as well as the stories. Gomen ne! Yay! I'm on 49 people's favorite author list! Thank you so much! Um, one more thing. It might seem like the next part coming up might be a little bit like part of an "R" story, but don't worry, it isn't.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them.  
  
If I have any errors in spelling or any other grammar, please tell me!  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Time To Change Your Bandages!  
  
He woke up to the sound of lively birds chirping in the background. "Damn, morning already. I'll have to go hunting for more food." He cursed, but decided to stay till he felt like getting up.  
  
Rubbing his still sleepy eyes, he realized the position they were in. Kagome was on top, her legs tangled within his, and her parted lips resting in the crook of his neck. He turned a bright crimson, embarrassed that he liked being so intimately pressed against her.  
  
As soon as his mind began to wander off into some of the fantasies he had dreamt the night before, Kagome began to rouse from her sleep. "Inu.." She moaned, trying to stretch her arms but couldn't for some reason.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome waved a finger over his face effortlessly, but still painfully. Surprisingly, his eyes were glazed, and a goofy smile was on his face. "Inuyasha, are you okay?" She said again, and there was no response. His eyes were closed now, and he began to move his lower regions against hers.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome tensed and her eyes widened immensely, blushing. She rolled off of his body, trying to avoid the situation he was creating. "Huh? Kagome?" He blinked a couple of times, and then realized what he was daydreaming about, and that he must have done something to greatly embarrass her.  
  
She averted her eyes from his, staring down at the futon. "Kagome. What's wrong?" He asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "You were. never mind." She trailed off, and decided not to tell him.  
  
"What? Tell me." He insisted. "Are you sure?" She asked, like it was a burden to leave him with the news. "Yeah."  
  
She sighed heavily, and decided to tell him. "Well, you were, well.. Um, you were, kind of, rubbing against me. Really um, intimately." She stuttered, blushing again. All he did was laugh. She stared up at his face, and narrowed her eyes, and said, "What? You're just going to laugh? You're not going to apologize?"  
  
"But you were blushing, that meant you liked it." He said, and chuckled again. "N-no! That's not true! I didn't like it!" She protested, but she couldn't keep herself from getting any redder.  
  
"Admit it Kagome. You liked it. I know you did. You think I couldn't smell your excitement when I did that?" He grinned, and tried to hold in his laughter as he saw her tomato red face.  
  
She just turned away, ignoring him. "Aw, c'mon Kagome. I'm sorry. Can't you forgive me?" He said playfully, nipping her neck. "I'm not talking to you." She said coolly, ignoring his attempts to grab her attention.  
  
"Kagome." He whined, rubbing one of his white ears against her cheek. "You can't ignore my ears can you? They're so soft, and fluffy. You can't resist right?" She clamped her eyes shut, but couldn't help it. She let out a big sigh, and turned around. She brought her hand up to his ear, and instead of petting it, she gave it one painful yank.  
  
"Ow! Kagome! That hurts!" He squinted his eyes in pain, bringing his now pink tinted ear down onto his head. "Hehe. Serves you right." She giggled, but stroked his ear anyway, apologizing.  
  
He moaned in pleasure, putting an arm around her waist. "Inuyasha?" She was so surprised on how he reacted, but brushed the thought away, and continued to stroke his ears.  
  
He began to nuzzle her neck, inhaling her scent of strawberries and lilies. There was a slight change though, with the medicine she took and the disinfectant. She suddenly stopped, and he whined in protest, rubbing his ears against her palm.  
  
"Inuyasha. I've been rubbing your ears for almost 10 minutes! That's more than enough." She said, smiling at his childish acts. "Time to change your bandages." He said, grinning, as if this was a revenge act.  
  
"No! I'm not letting you see!" She squeaked, shaking her head in protest. "I've seen everything already. What's there left to see?" He said, smiling. "I'll bandage myself! I can do it!" She said trying to wave her arms but couldn't because of the immense pain. "Ow.." She said.  
  
"See? You can't even move. I'll have to bandage you. Why don't you close your eyes? That'll be better." He suggested, and grabbed the broken first aid box and pulled out the disinfectant and the bandages.  
  
"Fine." She said, and closed her eyes. He carefully removed his haori from her body, and then removed the bandages. He turned red just at the sight of her chest, but shook his head of any dirty thoughts and proceeded on.  
  
Wrapping the last of the bandages around her torso, he pulled on the haori, satisfied. "Ok Kagome, you can open your eyes now." He said.  
  
(He said to close her eyes because if she saw the look on his face and stuff, she would slap him. That's why.)  
  
Her eyes fluttered open and realized that he had bandaged her and dressed her with his haori.  
  
"Thank you Inuyasha." She said her thanks and a loud grumble came from her stomach. "Guess that means I'm hungry." She giggled. **************************************************************************** *****  
  
Whew. All that typing in one sitting! Way too long. I know it's the weekend, but I have some homework that I still gotta do! So, I'll see ya later!  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	4. Gone Away

So, I know it's been a long time, but I'm so sorry! I've been having some Writer's block, so it was hard to even write anything! But if I don't update, just read my other stories. I would appreciate it. I'm so glad I left my reviewers happy in the last chapter! Thanks for the reviews too. So, here's chapter four!  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.  
  
Warning: I am not responsible for any cavities! Remember, there is fluff! ^_^  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Gone  
  
As soon as he woke up the next day, she was gone. She wasn't in the futon with him and his haori was gone too. He frantically searched the futon, pulling the cover off and looking under it. She wasn't there. Then he searched around the whole hut, lifting things and looking over and under them. But she wasn't there. It was silly, looking in her backpack to see if she was in there, but he was too focused on finding her to realize.  
  
He pushed the door open, grabbed Tessaiga, and ran out of the hut. He followed her scent, occasionally sniffing the forest floor. He tried to find any clues, such as pieces of fabric or bandages. But there was none. Her scent lead to many places and then it kept going to the same place again. But he kept following it, and finally, it lead to a hot spring.  
  
She was sitting in it, her head relaxed on the rock behind her. There was a pile of bandages sitting on top of his haori. She wasn't sleeping, he knew that by the rhythmic sounds of her breathing, but her eyes were closed. She looked so serene, just sitting there in the water, her eyes closed and her head to the side.  
  
The weather was quite warm, the trees were green and there was a slight breeze. He was in a state of lethe, just staring at her, taking in all her body features. The curves of her hips, the small ringlets at the end of her hair, and the tone of her fair colored skin.  
  
Then she stirred slightly. She licked her lips and blinked her eyes open, breathing deeply. He froze, his mouth open a bit, enough to show his fangs a bit. She stared back at him, wide-eyed. She soon began to cover her body with her arms, trying not to injure herself again. She was still hurt, but was in need of a bath.  
  
His face was rimmed with a red blush as his ears twitched nervously. She just stared at him, mortified. She had tucked her lips into her mouth, crouching into a small ball so he couldn't see her body. He gathered all his nervousness and tossed it away. He walked behind her and began to take off his clothes.  
  
He only left his fundoshi on for his modesty and stepped in next to her, bringing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his lap. She stiffened, breathing very shallowly, shaking in excitement.  
  
He felt her body heat up and the touch of her skin made him shiver. One arm rested right below her bosom while the other was above her navel. He held her body very gently, savoring the touch of her skin.  
  
She tried to turn around, but couldn't. His grip on her was too strong. "Can you let me turn around?" She asked him, turning her head towards his face. He nodded, and shifted her body for her.  
  
She now faced him, and leaned her body on his chest. His hands were below her waist, barely reaching her bottom. Her face was in his neck, her hot breath exhaling onto his damp skin. He felt her eyes close, and he pressed her closer to his body, holding her tighter.  
  
Kagome's POV  
  
I felt a surge pass my body after his chest had brushed against mine. Everything felt so fuzzy and light, almost as if this was a dream. It's so weird, our relationship as expanded in only three days alone. I guess that it was a good thing that I got hurt, but not exactly that much of a good thing. I've always wanted him to hold me so intimately like this in the hot spring. It's like a dream come true.  
  
This morning was so painful. I had to get out of Inuyasha's grip on my waist and then I had to try to get out of the warm futon. Actually, if Inuyasha hadn't been sleeping with me in the futon, it wouldn't be as warm but oh well. My limbs were aching because of the lack of movement I've had with my body. The stupid bandages have cut off some of my circulation also.  
  
I wanted to take a bath so badly. I never skip more than three days if possible. Hot water is very scarce in Sengoku Jidai. It has become a very precious thing to me. Although I could just boil water in a pot and pour it over my body. But I want the water surrounding me.  
  
End POV  
  
Inuyasha stroked her hair, trying to rid the medicinal smell that was replacing her natural scent. She leaned into him, her eyes getting heavy. He stopped, noticing the pattern of her breathing. It had relaxed and seemed like she was sleeping. He sighed deeply and put both of her arms around his neck. He gripped her thighs and stepped out of the water, carrying her with him.  
  
He set her down on the dew-covered grass and lay his haori over her body. He quickly squeezed the fundoshi of water and put it back on. He pulled on his hakama and soon, his white under haori. He bundled the discarded bandages and put it into his haori to throw out later.  
  
He then wrapped the other haori over her naked body and set her into the same position before when he carried her. Inuyasha ran out of the area and soon, he arrived at the hut once again.  
  
He removed an arm from her legs and slid open the door. He stepped a foot in and then shut the door, but remembering to leave a bit open for some sunlight. He then stuck Tessaiga into the splintering wood and walked towards the futon.  
  
He set her down onto the futon, and brought the roll of bandage and the ointment out of the first aid kit box. He then carefully removed his haori off her body and gently rubbed the ointment onto her wounds. He thought that the ointment would be better than the disinfectant spray, because first of all, it didn't sting, and second of all, it did the same job. So he preferred to use the ointment rather than the disinfectant.  
  
After he finished that, he lifted her up onto his lap again, minding that she was still injured. He wrapped the bandage around her ribs and then wrapped them around her wounds. Her major wound was mainly towards her shoulders and back. There was a gash near her shoulder blades and a cut from her shoulders to her ribcage. Of course, on her back.  
  
He pulled the haori over her body again, tying it around her body like it was a yukata. He wondered what a kimono would look like on her. She looked pretty with anything to his opinion, and his haori substituted great as a yukata. The redness matched the color of her lips and her light skin made her look so vibrant and bright mixed with the red.  
  
He brushed the frays of hair framing her face away behind her ear and took a good look at her face. He had never noticed, but she seemed to have a few small freckles. But they were barely visible. He traced a claw along her jawbone, being careful not to cut her. He ran a finger across her lips, marveling at how soft they were.  
  
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she stared up at Inuyasha, wondering what he was doing. "Erm. Inuyasha? What are you doing?" She asked, pulling herself up by gripping his body to support her own. "Uh. Nothing." He stammered, and brought a nervous hand to scratch his head.  
  
He held her close, lying against the wall, cradling her body. She shakily wrapped her arm around his neck, the other one clutching a part of his white haori. She laid her head where his heart would be and listened to it's beat.  
  
He sat her up and asked her for the comb that she carried with her. "My hairbrush?" She asked. He nodded, and she pointed 'in the bag'. He crawled over to her humongous yellow backpack and dug through it, throwing various items over his head.  
  
Various cries came from Kagome, such as, "Inuyasha, stop, that's my shampoo!" or "Oh no, that's my underwear!" He never noticed anything, and kept flinging the items around. You could no longer see his full head now; it was buried in the backpack.  
  
He pushed things aside and then grabbed her hairbrush. Then he snatched the towel he had discovered before and stuffed all the other remaining items back into the backpack.  
  
Kagome sat below him, and he dried her wet locks. They were halfway dried, but still, they were wet, and he didn't want her to catch a cold. She tilted her back for him to get better contact. Inuyasha fingered with the cotton candy colored pink towel in his hands. Kagome's smell wafted from the towel to his eager nose. He patted her hair with the towel to dry it well. After, he tossed the towel to his side, ignoring it. "The brush, well, how do you use it?" He asked, poking at the small little stick like things poking at him. She sighed, and he handed it to her. She showed him how, combing her own hair. She handed it back to him, letting him take the brush. He combed it very carefully, making sure he didn't hurt her if he pulled too hard or something.  
  
He was finished with the brush, causing him to fling it away. "I-inuyasha. Can I k-kiss you?" She stammered and flushed scarlet. He blinked and colored a deep red, slightly shrugging but he just nodded dumbly.  
  
She wrapped the other arm around him and claimed his mouth with hers. He began to take it further and started to move his mouth with hers. She shyly parted her lips, granting him entry. It gave him the chance to slide his tongue inside. She nervously did the same and then, getting bolder by the second, began to explore his too.  
  
He broke the kiss, panting lightly. Kagome pressed her face against the hollow of his neck and closed her eyes. He didn't smell bad at all, actually, he smelled even better than any person from her time, even if he didn't bathe that often. It wasn't that heavy, musky scent that most men had, it just smelled natural, like nature itself.  
  
She watched the afternoon sun set outside of the hut from the little space between the doors. She had enjoyed that kiss; after all, it was her first. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
So, how was this chapter? Not that bad. But it's not my best. I'll try harder next time to get a chapter out on time, okay? Sorry for the wait.  
  
Ja ne,  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	5. A Time of Relaxation

So, how's you like Chapter Four? Was it good enough? So anyways, if I don't update this, PLEASE read my other fics. I usually have NO time to write, so this is a very rare sometimes. Um anyways, thanks for the reviews. They were great. Um, this chapter takes place a few days after the previous one, so, just to make sure you knew, okay?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them.  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Family Pasts & Proposals  
  
"Mmm, Inuyasha. We never get the chance to talk, so, I want to know about your family." She murmured. There was no light except for the small fire in the middle of the hut and Kagome's portable battery powered lamp. It was already very dark, but it was still about seven o'clock.  
  
"Tell me about yours first." He said, shifting her body in his lap. "Okay, okay. Well, what do you want to know about?" She asked.  
  
"You father." He decided, after thinking. Her eyes softened, and she smiled faintly like she was remembering memories of him. "Well, I was only seven years old when it happened, but I still remember very clearly. Souta was born in that year, and he was lucky that he got to spend some time with Papa, but I don't think he remembers." Kagome started, clutching Inuyasha closer.  
  
"I loved him." Little tears shimmered in her eyelids, but she never let them go. She wiped them away with her hands, not saying a word. "What about the Jii-Jii?" He chuckled, remembering the times he had thrown his demon ofudas at him for calling him that.  
  
"Oh, Jii-chan? What about him? Like, before I was a teenager, or some other time?" She asked, giggling. "How about, when you were a pup?" He suggested, using a quite foreign word with her.  
  
"Pup? Is that your word for a baby?" She questioned, a quizzical look etched onto her face. "Yeah. Except for different kinds of demons, there are different words. Like, for Shippou. He's a kit." He explained.  
  
"Well, Jii-chan, used to go on little escapades now and then to China and various places in Japan. He visited lots of temples and shrines and got Mama and I lots of that spiritual jewelry that was supposedly good for your health or herbs with special healing powers. He collected all those dried up demon goods, like kappa's hands or enchanted kitsune trinkets. I never believed in those hocus pocus filled beliefs of his, but I still have the little kitsune trinkets with me. I could give some to Shippou to see if they are for real! He was really ridiculous with it though, and he still is. He always, almost always, gives me demon body parts or small replicas of them for my birthday or any other occasion. It's getting annoying." She smiled at the thought, trying to remember what else he brought.  
  
"Mm." He nodded, and rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Now, tell me about yours." She said, lifting his head up from her shoulder. "Tell me about, your mother." She said, picking her out of the choices she had.  
  
"Ofukuro. She was human, of course, and, she was very sad at points. Oyaji was always fighting with the other lands. I can't really remember her, because she was killed when I was just a pup." He looked down, his bangs shading his face.  
  
"Your Okaa-san did love you though, right?" Kagome asked, caressing his cheek with a hand. He nodded, bringing her hand up to his nose, nuzzling it.  
  
"Then that's all that counts." She said softly, ruffling his bangs. "Mm.." He murmured, and ran his nose down her front side, licking every so now and then. "Inuyasha. Be serious." She complained, pinching his cheek softly.  
  
"Kagome." He gave an all too familiar whine, rubbing his ears against her nose. "I'm not falling for it. You fool me once, shame on you. You fool me twice, shame on me." She scolded, rubbing the base of his right ear anyways, feeling guilty even though he wasn't listening.  
  
He made a sound of protest, and scowled. He knew something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he had forgotten when he was listening to her talk about her family. He closed his eyes and thought, trying to recall what he was going to do.  
  
Kagome nuzzled the side of his face, and suddenly, he remembered what he was going to do. "I've been meaning to ask you this Kagome. Well, I know our feelings have been growing these past days, and I've been wondering. if, well, you know, you could um. be my mate?" He asked, a pink tinge appearing on his face. She flushed a deep red, and nodded, smiling faintly. He hugged her tightly, capturing her lips with his, which led to, other things of course.  
  
~*~  
  
He smiled at the sleeping woman below him, and wiped the sheet of sweat away that had collected. Gazing at her face, he kissed her nose lightly, stroking the side of her face. The woman he had met just two years ago had changed his life severely; softening the arrogant and mean barrier he had formed to cover his true feelings over the years to defend himself from anymore emotional pain.  
  
Mother was enough; her death had caused him to cry night after night, praying for her soul to rest in peace. His sorrow and guilt had made demons take advantage of feelings and made them go against himself, causing him to constantly run and try to defend himself.  
  
After years of running and running, he had finally found a person who had accepted him, although she was afraid of him first. Kikyou. He had followed her around everywhere, hoping that him being with her would prove that he could be gentle even if he was a hanyou. Being around her, and her being around him had caused them to have deeper feelings for each other, but unfortunately, not deep enough for trust.  
  
Onigumo came along, and then, Naraku. Naraku had caused them all this pain and uneasiness, causing him to suffer again. But Kagome had come and changed all of that. Even if he disliked her the few weeks they had been together, they had learned to become friends and like each other for who they were.  
  
He didn't want to have the same pain again if Kagome died, so he would have to be very careful not to reveal their relationship, at least to unknown people. He sighed, and kissed her lips softly, and drifted off to sleep. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So, how was it? Yeah! They're mates now. Hee hee..  
  
Ja ne,  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	6. A Lesson

I'm back!!! I'm so happy, so many reviews! Thank you so much. I'm adding a small section at the bottom for poetry; so, feel free to give me some short poetry to add there. I've caught some interest on poetry now, especially E.E. Cummings. My friend has inspired me. Anyways, it's at the bottom.  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Literature Arts Lesson  
  
"I shall stay, because of him. He forces me to stay because of his reasons. Love, does it mask other feelings so much that I cannot feel other emotions?" Kagome read from an old green leather book. (Okay, it's not a real book; I just made up that little tidbit up there.)  
  
"How come she's staying if she doesn't love him? Or does she love him?" Inuyasha scratched his chin in confusion.  
  
"She didn't love him at first, but then she realizes that she does. And thinks she is staying because he makes her, but really, she stays because she wants to." Kagome explained, waving her hands around to emphasize the point of the book.  
  
He groaned inwardly, bringing a hand to his head to rub his aching temples. The book was too confusing. First the girl in the book went off to an arranged marriage, and then she hates his guts, and then, all of the sudden, she loves him.  
  
She sighed, closing the book and setting it down again onto the floor of the hut. "Well, you said you wanted to know what I learn in my Literature Arts class."  
  
"Keh." He snorted, turning his head away. "Oi Kagome, do you have any of that yellow stuff?" He poked her arm, trying to get her attention. "What yellow stuff?" She asked, digging through her backpack.  
  
"That stuff that you boil." He said, crawling over to her backpack himself, digging through it. "This!" He pointed to a medium sized cup of instant ramen. She raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway, getting the portable flame and a small pot for the boiling.  
  
"Would you get some water for me from the stream?" She handed him the pot, and he nodded his head, grabbing Tessaiga from the entrance and sheathing it. He ran out of the hut, leaving her by herself.  
  
Kagome gave a yawn, glancing at the lone wristwatch mingling with her bath supplies. It read: 10:34 AM. It was still early. About three days passed since their first time together, and she didn't even know if she was pregnant or not. He wouldn't tell her, simply because she didn't bring it up. She would have to talk to Mama about it.  
  
She sighed, adjusting the string around her waist, securing his haori around her body. She now wore her underwear under, since they were going to leave soon, and giving Miroku-sama quite a show was not one of the plans. But a bra was not especially necessary, and another reason, she didn't have one. She wrapped a layer of cloth around her breasts though, just in case when they arrive, Miroku-sama gets a little, well, perverted and also, for feminine reasons.  
  
She still had a few layers of bandages around her ribs to support their original shape and one layer around her wrists and ankles just for caution. There were no more scars from her wounds, the doing of Inuyasha's licking, and she thankfully didn't have any more bruises or blemished skin.  
  
Using part of the help of her backpack, she stood up, her legs wobbling slightly. After not using her legs for a long period of time in bed, she had much to work on her muscles again, like exercising her legs to take a bath, or take a small walk with Inuyasha during twilight or during dawn (and the exception of waking up early enough).  
  
Kagome straightened the fabric of the haori and sat closer to the door, her left side to the left side of the hut from the inside. She slid the door to the right more to see the forest from the inside of the hut. Inuyasha usually came back later from some time to think while getting water from the stream, so she didn't have to worry about him being late.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
He dipped the small pot like kettle into the stream and gathered the water, being careful not to collect twigs and other impurities. The boiling would purify the water of germs, but not of natural items such as wood, dirt, or any other things. This was the first time they would be eating the yellow stuff for a long time, because he didn't bother looking for it, and he just hunted for kill.  
  
Kagome's ningen-shoku* was very useful, and didn't waste any time, but, still, it tasted dry at points. She explained that it was pre-cooked or freeze-dried, but of course, nobody understood what she meant. It was good, like the dried potato stuff, and the bubbly drinks, but he didn't understand how it got like that.  
  
Sighing, he got up from the ground, and held the water, balancing it so it stayed in the pot. He walked towards the hut, seeing Kagome sitting at the entrance, smiling at him. He would have to explain what would happen after they left, and how he would act, but meanwhile, he just savored the time they had left alone.  
  
"Okay, now wait a little bit. I have to boil the water, and then after that, I'll put the hot water into the ramen, and then it'll be done." She said, and crawled over to her portable flame. She set the small pot over the flame, and waited for it to boil.  
  
Now was the chance to talk to her about his attitude about being mates in public. (Thanks lilemmy for reminding me about this!) "Oi, Kagome. I need to talk to you about something." He said, keeping his voice down.  
  
"Yes?" She turned the flame off and lifted the pot down, and poured the hot water into the cup of ramen.  
  
"I'm not going to act like this all the time when we're with other people." He said, fumbling with the bottom ties of his hakama. (The ones hear his ankles.)  
  
"Yes, I know that. You're pride would be ruined if you did. But I wouldn't mind if you would act a little bit less rude." She giggled and handed him chopsticks and his cup of ramen.  
  
His bottom lip jutted out as she said that, a form of his poutiness. "Oh come on Inuyasha, don't sulk. You just need to learn how to be more nice to people. Don't always result to killing and revenge, while there are other ways." She waved a finger scolding him, but at the same time, joking about it.  
  
"Keh!" He grunted and turned away, pulling the rest of the foil off of the Styrofoam cup. He began to eat it, his eyes closed. He didn't eat like he was starving this time, so, he leisurely took his time, and stopped to take a drink from the water bottle she had provided.  
  
"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked between mouthfuls, and stopped to drink again. "There wasn't anything else." She said. Just at that moment, her stomach growled loudly, indicating that she was very hungry.  
  
"Here. Eat it." He gave her the half filled bowl of ramen. He thrust the water bottle into her hands too. His expression seemed serious, and to say, "Eat." That was probably his main instinct anyway.  
  
"Thank you." She began to eat, sweeping her hair away from her face. He smiled, resting his head in the palm of his right hand. Watching her eat was funny, because she occasionally pouted when the noodles dropped into the bowl instead of arriving into her mouth.  
  
She was funny to look at, even at first view. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
So, how was that? A little humor too.. Ningen-shoku means human food. Okay? Anyways, I got to go, so bye.  
  
Ja ne,  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	7. Suspicion

Hey, I am really, terribly, sorry that I made you wait. With all the exams, quizzes, tests, and a research project, I don't have any free time to do anything! Studying, researching, working, ugh! It's all a mess. Thanks for the reviews! We might break a hundred! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: You would know by now.  
  
Notes: "blah" - talk ~*~ - scene change  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Suspicion  
  
Slipping out of his arms gently, she lightly stroked his face, and stood. Carefully pulling on the miko* robes she had started to wear without Inuyasha's consent, she tied the last knot, reaching for an extra ribbon for her hair.  
  
She hadn't wanted to look like Kikyou, but for hidden reasons, she wore them, hoping he wouldn't suspect anything. He had gotten irritated and there was always a scowl on his face, but he let it go, and allowed her to wear them.  
  
She put the zori* onto her feet, and pulled the bamboo screen aside, letting the cool morning air blow against her cheeks. She looked back at the small hut, as if a small goodbye to her friends, and her beloved.  
  
Although she was not leaving, and simply just taking a small walk, parting from her friends even for a short amount of time was painful, especially after spending a week away from them. Bending down, she picked a small white flower, stroking the smooth petals. White was the color of pureness. She stuck it into her robes, careful not to crush it.  
  
Continuing to walk, she bowed politely to the passersby's that she occasionally encountered while walking along the dirt path. They nodded in respect, tipping their head slightly, recognizing her as a miko.  
  
She had wandered off into a field when she had realized that it was time to go back. "Kagome." A voice behind her startled her, causing her to go rigid. "Calm down, it's only me."  
  
The person revealed himself to be Inuyasha. He set an arm around her shoulders, causing her to swoon just from his touch. As she fell back, he held her close, stroking her cheek.  
  
"Where'd you go?" He questioned her, settling his hands around her waist. "For a walk." She whispered back, turning herself around.  
  
"C'mon, let's go back." He squatted down, allowing her to easily get onto his back. She set her legs through the holes he had made with his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
Tightening his hold on her thighs, he sped through the forest, aiming to get back to the hut from there.  
  
~*~  
  
Shippou began to stir in her lap while she began to stroke his hair. He had grown accustomed to sleeping with the couple, just like he was their pup. After discovering the relationship between them, he had accepted to having Inuyasha as a father figure.  
  
Everyone was still sleeping and it was still very early in the morning. The sun hadn't even finished rising yet. Inuyasha removed the tie at the bottom of her hair, and ran his hands through it, sending small kisses down the back of her neck.  
  
Giving a small moan, she set Shippou down onto the futon, and turned around to meet her lover face to face. "Don't go too far." She whispered to him and allowed him to kiss her.  
  
A hand snaked into her white haori*, and caressed her back, running his fingers up and down in a relaxing motion. He squeezed her shoulders gently to release the tension that had collected there.  
  
When his hand met a breast, she shook her head. "No, we can't. They might wake up." She whispered once again, and smiled apologetically. He sighed, and fixed her haori.  
  
Their friends hadn't woken up during their little 'moment', but still it was not smart to engage in such intimacy when it could easily lead to something more which the sleeping friends could accidentally witness.  
  
Roughly guessing with only a sky to help her, she estimated that the time was approximately 6:00 AM. Although she may have been wrong or correct, it seemed as though an appropriate time for them to still be sleeping.  
  
"Inuyasha. I want to go home for a little bit. Do you mind?" She asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
  
"Fine, but I get to come with you." He huffed in annoyance that she wanted to go home, but it had been a long time since she had last gone. Smiling, she gave him a small peck on the lips and nuzzled his neck in appreciation.  
  
"We'll leave by afternoon." He said. She nodded in agreement. Shippou began to stir, once in her arms again, and his sparkling eyes were open in a few minutes. "Kagome-mama?" He questioned, looking up at his smiling surrogate mother.  
  
"Good morning." She said, lightly kissing his cheek. He hugged back. She handed him to Inuyasha who just ruffled his hair. "Morning Inu-papa."  
  
"Ohayo*, Shippou." He said back, and let him snuggle into his stomach. Three people unknowingly watched this scene. "Ahem! But if you are done with saying your good-mornings, but we would like to begin breakfast!" Miroku announced to the flushed family.  
  
~*~  
  
"Shippou-chan, I'll be back soon. We only need a few days for some shopping and errands. We are running low on our supply of food and bandages." She held him close to her chest, running her hands through his long red hair.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be back soon?" He looked up at her with sad eyes.  
  
"Yes, I will." She gave him one last kiss. Shippou crawled into Inuyasha's arms and hugged him around the neck. "Bye, Inu-papa."  
  
He ran off back to Kirara and waved as the couple disappeared down the well.  
  
~*~  
  
After changing into a baggy blue sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, she had changed Inuyasha in her father's old clothes even if they were a bit outdated. Everyone was not home due to a family emergency.  
  
"Inuyasha, I'll be in the bathroom. Just want to take a bath." She said. "Can I join you?" He asked, standing up. Nodding, she went to the hallway closet to get an extra towel for him.  
  
After getting an extra towel, she spent a little time to glance at her 'time of the month' calendar. After looking around a few times to see if Inuyasha would come out, she flipped the pages to the previous month before. She had started on February 8, and 'it' had gone for three more days. Then she flipped to the next month. Today was the 13 of March. She was supposed to start 6 days ago.  
  
Bringing a hand to her mouth and whispering, "pregnant", she gasped and shut the hallway closet. This was the hidden reason on why she wore the miko robes, to hide her pregnancy.  
  
"Okay, Inuyasha, is the water ready?" She opened the door to see the tub full and steaming hot with water. "Oh." She giggled at her mistake and set his towel on the sink counter.  
  
Turning her back to his, she carefully stripped her clothes, hiding her stomach with her hands. He was already done and sat in the water, waiting for her.  
  
She stepped in, sighing at the warmth of the water. He wrapped his arms around her torso, running a hand across her abdomen.  
  
"Kagome. You aren't pregnant are you?" He asked her, his breath hot against the back of her neck. "I am." She said, and faced him, her hands against his chest.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So, are you surprised or no? I knew it had to come in this story. I know I'm not supposed to leave cliffys, but it was so tempting! Besides, I feel very empty of ideas now. But it has lifted a great weight off my shoulders.  
  
Word Key:  
  
Miko - priestess  
  
Zori - traditional sandals  
  
Haori - the red top or the white top that both Inuyasha and Kikyou wear.  
  
Ohayou - Good Morning  
  
Ja ne,  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	8. Arrival

Man.. Life sucks. I'm drinking Earl Grey because I'm so desperate to drink something and the only other thing is Cranberry juice and some lime soda or whatever. I don't want to drink the soda because; I guess I don't feel like drinking it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own him and the others.  
  
Last note: This chapter might be a little limeish.  
  
Bolds - Shouting or something with high tone meaning.  
  
Italics - thinking and something like expressiveness.. You know.. Stuff.  
  
"Words" - talk  
  
**^^** - Scene change  
  
Word* - translation on bottom  
  
**^^**  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Arrival  
  
**^^**  
  
"I'm pregnant, Inuyasha." She said quietly, gripping tighter, burying her face into his bare shoulder.  
  
He was silent for a moment, but he gripped her tighter, placing a small kiss on the side of her neck nipping at the scarred mark. "Don't worry. I want it. Of course I would want it. Don't be stupid Kagome." He said a little amusingly at the end.  
  
Kagome smiled and twirled her finger in the warm water, watching it ripple into wrinkles. "Inuyasha. Are you scared?" She asked him.  
  
"Nervous but not scared." He admitted, pulling her out of the tub with him. He grabbed the towel and dried himself off while she also did with her own towel. As she bent over to dry her legs, his eyes slowly lowered to gaze at her creamy white legs. He noticed how elegant her hair looked as it swayed subconsciously to the movement of her body.  
  
A flush of a dull red spread evenly on his face as he realized that he had been staring quite perversely at her body.  
  
"Inuyasha? Is something wrong?" She asked him, pausing to step closer to him and place both hands on his neck.  
  
He flushed an even darker red as her breasts pressed up against his naked chest. Her scent had suddenly turned very alluring and the closeness sent his heartbeat faster. "A-aa. I'm fine." He gulped and felt his body grow hotter.  
  
"Are you sure? You aren't acting like it." She said, feeling his forehead. She gasped.  
  
"You're burning up! Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. He nodded and tensed again when she moved closer.  
  
"Stop." He half-groaned, pushing her body slightly away. His skin felt like he had been in a desert, sweaty and hot, but from a different reason. His reason was Kagome, not the sun.  
  
They walked back into the bedroom quietly and lay down onto her bed, tired from the events of the day. Outside, the sun had softened into a pure orange glow, lighting the bedroom in a seductive manner. She lay onto his body, pressing a soft kiss onto his lips.  
  
He groaned softly as she lapped at his collarbone, tracing the mark with her teeth. Claiming her lips in a heated more demanding kiss, he traced the lining of her lips with his tongue and gently pushed it against the side, asking entrance.  
  
His fingers somehow entangled themselves in her hair, pressing them closer. She sighed as he caressed her cheek with his nose. Taking a deep inhale of her scent by burying his nose into the crook of her neck, he slid a hand up the back of her shirt. He pulled it down, exposing her shoulders and a lacy white bra.  
  
She removed the haori, letting it slide down his arms and hang from his waist. Slowly caressing his right ear from behind, her fingers moving in a slow calming motion. Her other arm wrapped itself around his abdomen, pulling him closer.  
  
His mouth open in a slight "o", he tensed as she rubbed his ears. Groaning, he lay back to give her better access. She smiled at him. They hadn't done something so intimate since they were back at the hut a while ago.  
  
Nuzzling his nose against her stomach, he wrapped both of his arms around her torso, and relaxed. Giving a soft sigh, he began to fall asleep in her lap. Her hands slightly stroked his ears, giving brush-like strokes to help him fall asleep. After noticing the differed pattern of his breathing, she lightly kissed his head and began to doze off as well.  
  
**^^**  
  
After he had awakened, he saw that the room was pitch black and the only light was the soft glow of the moon, which currently illuminated Kagome's face, giving an eerie shine.  
  
Pulling himself out of her hold, he put his haori back on. After several tries to get the light on, the one on her bedside table, he finally twisted it and it turned on. "Kagome. Wake up." He lightly touched her face and her eyes fluttered open. Giving a small yawn, she pecked him on the lips.  
  
"Should I make dinner?" She asked, and Inuyasha nodded furiously.  
  
They walked down the stairs and began to turn on every light that hadn't already turned on by automatic setting. Going through the refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards, she picked out the foods she wanted to eat and grinned at Inuyasha.  
  
"How do soda, ice cream, and chips do?" She asked, a bright smile on tickling her lips.  
  
"."  
  
**^^**  
  
She twisted and turned in the bed, clutching her stomach. "Will you stop wriggling? I can't sleep." He groaned, moving away from her.  
  
"My stomach hurts.." She said, breathing irregularly. She brought a hand to her mouth and tumbled out of the bed, rushing towards the bathroom. A wave of nausea hit her again, and she emptied her stomach of all the food she had eaten for dinner.  
  
Groaning, she slumped to her knees. Weakly standing, she gargled with mouthwash and swished the spicy mint substance in and out her teeth gaps. "Kagome.." Inuyasha murmured as he set his hands onto her shoulder.  
  
Groggily reaching for the light, he grabbed a small towel for her and let her dry her lips before putting it back. "Thank you." She whispered, smiling faintly. He nodded in response, wrapping his arms around her neck.  
  
She tensed and began to clutch her stomach again. "Inuyasha. I'm still feeling a little sick. Don't hold me too tight." She said, loosening his grip on her.  
  
Lightly kissing her goodnight, he let her rest in his arms, comfortably shifting into a different position. She shivered slightly, her arms developing goose bumps from the lack of clothing. Only a tank top and underwear was her choice of bedclothes.  
  
Retrieving his haori, he wrapped it around her shoulders to warm her frigid body. "Mmm." She mumbled as she snuggled into the haori, which was still warm from his body heat.  
  
Hearing the quiet ticking of the clock next to him, he pondered about Kagome. With Naraku dead and destroyed, there would be no more worrying about Kikyou that much. Yet, a soft guilt still held itself a place in his heart, and it was never relieved.  
  
'Kikyou. Are you still alive?' He wondered as he felt the darkness of the night wash over him in sleep.  
  
**^^**  
  
The warmth of the winter sun brightly shined on their faces, giving a slightly tanned look on their skin. But that peacefulness would soon be interrupted.  
  
"KAGOME! What in the world are you doing? Get some decent clothes now, young lady!" Her mother screeched, making Inuyasha flinch.  
  
"Mama! But Inuyasha-  
  
"No buts! Put on your clothes." She insisted, pointing her glove-clad finger towards Kagome's dresser.  
  
"Mama. Inuyasha and I are married.." She said quietly, a flush rising to her cheeks.  
  
The poor woman felt the need to sit down. After yelling at her daughter and rushing up the stairs when she saw the couple's clothes in the hamper placed near the door to the basement, then the shock of Inuyasha and her daughter getting married. It was all too much in one day.  
  
"Kagome, you two are married?" Mama repeated in disbelief, glancing at Inuyasha. He tensed and quickly looked at another section of the room.  
  
"Well, not in human terms, but in youkai terms yes." Kagome said with a difficulty, absently putting a hand on her abdomen.  
  
Mama noticed this but thought none of it. "How so?" She asked, quite intrigued by the mentioning of youkai marriage.  
  
"Well, we have m-mated.. But that's about the only thing I know about it. You should ask Inuyasha." She fought the urge to stutter, but instead, gave a straight response.  
  
"Alright. That's all I really need to know." Mama stated, and went off to the living room to store her coat and gloves in the closet.  
  
After hearing the footsteps quiet, Kagome closed the door and peered over at Inuyasha. His face held a slight blush and he looked extremely nervous. "Inuyasha it's okay now. She's gone. No more questions. For now that is."  
  
"When are you going to tell her you're pregnant?" He said softly, getting out of the once warm bed.  
  
She looked away for a moment and replied, "Soon. Maybe after breakfast."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	9. Revelations

Hi! I'm back!  
  
Oh my gosh... It's so annoying, Angelfire you know? It's horrible! I hate it. But I have no choice but to use it. Stupid Angelfire. Curse it.  
  
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you? I don't own him! There! I said it!  
  
Word* - translation at bottom of story  
  
**^^** - scene change  
  
**^^**  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Revelations  
  
**^^**  
  
"Mama! We were alone! You can't stop hormones!" Kagome said aggravated that she had to explain what they had done together. It was plain mortifying, and just unnatural! Her mother was asking her about sex. It felt so embarrassing.  
  
"Kagome, you two could have controlled yourselves! You two are still under twenty. Am I correct?" Mama said sternly, looking serious.  
  
She nodded, and her mother added knowingly, "I do understand that there is no existence of protection, but honestly Kagome, couldn't you have asked me first?"  
  
"I was hurt. We couldn't come back." She mumbled.  
  
"Mama... This is kind of a silly question, but do you still have my baby clothes? And Souta's? Just wondering." Kagome said glancing at Inuyasha, signaling that this was the time they were going to tell her.  
  
Her mother's eyes widened.  
  
"Kagome, you're going to have a child?" She asked softly, giving a smile.  
  
"Yes... I've wanted to tell you, but I didn't know what you would think." The daughter replied, the fists resting on her knees looser.  
  
Mama gave her a warm hug, and commented on grandchildren and their...  
  
Ears...  
  
**^^**  
  
After packing baby clothes, maternity clothes, restocked supplies, and a few other knickknacks of Kagome's, they set the three stuffed sheets near the well.  
  
One sheet was wrapped around the baby clothes and maternity clothes, while the other two sheets were wrapped around the restocked supplies. The infamous yellow backpack held a few female necessities for Sango and the rest of Kagome's additional needs, like her diary, a couple notebooks for sketching or writing, and a camera. Things like that were sometimes useful. Yet Kagome insisted that she brought a couple of secret snacks just for food cravings.  
  
Already mid March, the snow was all melted and spring had just arrived. It was quite warm, and she only wore a pair of jeans and a thin sweater, large enough to conceal the very small swell. Her regular clothes fit her still, even if they were a little tighter, but they still fit, and probably will for the next month or so. It depended how fast the baby grew, err, pup grew.  
  
"Alright. Let's go back to the village." Kagome said as they heaved the sheets over their shoulders.  
  
Whispering something in her ear, she blushed, a redness peeking it's way to her cheeks. His husky voice made her shudder and it was even worse when he licked her neck. Something that felt so right, yet, felt unbelievably wrong...  
  
"I have to ask you something." She said, letting the bundles drop to the ground. She held his hands, his oh so terrifying but gentle hands. They made her feel so safe yet they have killed hundreds, youkai and humans. The hands that made her insides melt when they touched her, the hands that stroked her growing belly so softly, and they were his.  
  
"I know that you love me, and you've explained to me millions of times, but, what is going to happen to Kikyou? It's been bothering me so much.." She said softly, pressing his face against hers gently, rubbing her thumb against his right temple.  
  
Her.  
  
It came to her again.  
  
"When she comes back, I'll talk to her. I have to tell her myself. Can't help what was the past, Kagome. You're mine. Only mine..." He said, his voice distant.  
  
"I understand. I'm sorry that I asked about her." She apologized, brushing his bangs in featherlike touches.  
  
Two adults slowly watched them from the trees, smiling.  
  
"Oh, Houshi-sama, it's so sweet..." Sango sighed happily, holding her cheeks in her hands. He stared at the couple, watching them kiss.  
  
"Quickly, they're heading towards the hut!" She suddenly hissed, dragging him away from the two. He settled a hand on top of his staff, causing the jingling of the rings to stop.  
  
"Hurry!" She pulled his robes and they ran through the forest to arrive early at Kaede's hut. Both of them panting lightly, from running, sat down onto the hard wooden floor of the hut, inhaling the nice smell of roasting fish.  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha soon arrived in the hut, setting their baggage down on to the floor. Kagome untied them to sort the items out. "Sango-chan, here's your stuff you asked me for." A small colored plastic bag with flowers on it was given to Sango, while she turned a little red in embarrassment.  
  
"T-thank you, Kagome-chan." She stuttered, putting it behind her back. Opening it, she peered into the bag. A few packs of underwear, bras and panties, a few "feminine" necessities, and some makeup just for fun.  
  
Actually, there was one odd thing in there she actually didn't know what the item was. A small whitish clear box-like item with her name written in kanji. "Kagome-chan, what is this?" She held up the solid thing, feeling the smooth texture.  
  
"Oh, that. Let me tell you this before I explain. Don't put it in hot water or boiling water. It'll turn all runny and it'll taste weird. It's actually food. Mochi*, you know? It's kind of a fad that's going around in my school, where all the girl are carrying around mochi in their bags." She giggled childishly and played with the hem of her shirt.  
  
While Kagome explained, Inuyasha looked at her oddly, an eyebrow raised. "What kind of "fad" is that? You're bringing a rare food item to your "school", and then you keep them in your bags?"  
  
"Oh shush up, Inuyasha. It's just this weird thing that people start and it goes around in rumors so many students follow the trend." Kagome waved a hand, saying it casually.  
  
"I still think it's pretty stupid..." He grumbled, crossing his arms stubbornly. She simply just rolled her eyes, and smiled.  
  
"Ah, Kagome-chan, would you like to go to the hot springs with me in thanks of your "gifts"?" Sango asked, slightly flushing a rosy magenta while saying "gifts".  
  
"Sure Sango-chan, just let me get my bathing supplies and we'll go." She replied. After gathering her supplies, she whispered something into Inuyasha's ear and pointed to Miroku. Nodding, she gave him a peck on the cheek, waving goodbye.  
  
Miroku glanced around the room innocently, or his practiced "innocent" look, and hummed a bit, staying put in the hut till they left hearing range. "Don't you dare." Inuyasha growled, leering at the perverted monk.  
  
"It's not fair. You've seen Kagome-sama's beautiful anatomy, yet you do not allow me to see Sango's? Sango is not your mate for life. Kagome-sama is. So why do you not allow me to see Sango?" He finished off with a desperate tone.  
  
"Keh! Hell no! You aren't going, because Kagome told me to watch you." Inuyasha grumbled.  
  
Miroku just sighed, and tried to think of ways to escape the hut. There were many, yet none would outsmart Inuyasha. So he picked a topic that would hit a soft spot, and would let him have a chance to escape.  
  
"So... Inuyasha. How'd you go around doing it with Kagome-sama? Sango and Kagome-sama have been speaking quite euphoric statements behind our backs." He commented, examining his non- cursed hand.  
  
"Wha-what?! I'm not t-telling you!" Inuyash stammered quickly, his face going crimson. Reverting his gaze back to the wooden floor, he was glad Kaede wasn't there with them. She would just say embarrassing things about him. She was away, tending to a gravely ill villager.  
  
When he turned his head again, Miroku was gone. The reed screen over the opening of the doorway still shook from being run through. Angrily, Inuyasha raced out the hut, following the scent of the troublesome monk.  
  
Erasing his tracks while trying to hide his scent, the monk covered his hand over his staff like Sango had did earlier to stop it's jingling. Once he had approached the spring that Kagome and Sango had gone to bathe in, he crouched down low in the bushes behind the spring.  
  
He heard Inuyasha's footsteps stop right behind his back. He looked around to see the silver-haired one look down at him, raising an annoyed eyebrow. "Get down! They'll see you!" He hissed, attempting to pull the red sleeve of Inuyasha's haori to get him to crouch down.  
  
Scuffing at the dirt, Inuyasha picked up the monk by the neck and dragged him down the path and heaved his body into a bush. A groan was heard from within the bush, and Inuyasha realized his job was complete. Jumping into the high tree near the hut, he settled himself into the middle of the branch, crossing his arms.  
  
"Stupid monk.." He muttered, kicking the dirt off the branch to once hit the monk again.  
  
**^^**  
  
Sango glanced at Kagome, a suspicious silence coming over the two. When Kagome had undressed, her body had unknowingly changed... Like she had gained weight or something. Her flat torso was oddly swollen and her petite breasts had swelled, appearing larger.  
  
"Kagome-chan... Can I ask you something?" She asked, patting her friend's arm.  
  
Kagome glanced at her, strangely nervous and jittery. "Sure.. Why not?" She said, her voice a little higher than normal.  
  
"Are you... pregnant?" Sango asked, pointing to her stomach.  
  
There was another silence, and nobody spoke for a short while. Nodding, the girl beside her bit her lip nervously, wrapping her arms her body.  
  
"Does Inuyasha know?"  
  
Once again, Kagome nodded. She wrapped an arm around Sango, drawing the older girl close. "I trust you to not tell anyone. All right? We're in much danger as it already is." Kagome said softly.  
  
"Of course." She replied, smiling warmly. She felt a tad bit jealous that Kagome had started her relationship first. But... Oh no! What was she saying! Why was she jealous if Kagome and Inuyasha were having a baby? It's not likely that she would with Miroku... But then again, there was that promise she had made to him. That after they defeated Naraku, they would get married and have children together.  
  
"Sango-chan? Are you all right? Your face is getting a little red there.." Kagome giggled, pointing.  
  
"I'm fine!" She said.  
  
**^^**  
  
After a hearty meal, thanks to Kaede for making stew, most of them had gotten off to bed, all moving to the back of the hut. Except for Kagome and Inuyasha who got a shared futon in the front, as if it was their part of the hut. Like if there were rooms that would be their room.  
  
Yawning, Kagome put the screen in between the others and Inuyasha and her, and said her goodnights. Pulling a silk nightgown out of her backpack, she slipped it on, shivering at the smooth feeling.  
  
Inuyasha lay in the futon already, both of his haori removed, inner and outer, with just his hakama pants on. Smiling faintly, she snuggled into the soft material of the futon. Placing a small goodnight kiss on his lips, he licked her neck, grinning against her skin.  
  
She felt a soft childish giggle escape from her lips and she caressed his ear in favor, eliciting the familiar gentle rumble from his chest. She could the faint snores from Miroku and Shippou, for they were sleeping close together. Shippou had slept away from the couple today, for unknown reasons.  
  
"Goodnight." She whispered, resting a petite hand on his back, rubbing it gently so he could fall asleep.  
  
"Goodnight... Kagome." He said softly, his voice slurred because of the overpowering sleepiness.  
  
"Kagome-sama, Inuyasha, we know you two have a relationship but couldn't you please be quiet? Your soft murmuring is driving us to hell's end." Miroku said pleadingly, his voice tired.  
  
"Then just shut your fucking ears monk!" Inuyasha growled, angry to be awakened by such a silly matter.  
  
"Inuyasha! Don't be so mean. I'm sorry Miroku-sama, we'll go to sleep now, so you can too." Kagome said apologetically, putting a hand over Inuyasha's mouth to silence him.  
  
For the rest of the night, things were silent, except for a couple of snores... ************************************************************** **************************************************** 


	10. A Little Talk

Hmm.. Long time no see. Okay, I'm so sorry! Just some weird clubs and stupid homework.. Tsk tsk.. That's my pitiful excuse. Here is the San/Mir romance you wanted. I've been concentrating on editing the whole story... Because umm, it's kind of too romantic. I might want to tone it down a bit for San/Mir. Takes place at least 2-3 months after previous chapter. Enjoy~  
  
**^^**  
  
Drops of Her Blood  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
A Little Talk  
  
**^^**  
  
"Houshi-sama? May I speak with you if it's alright?" Sango asked softly, tapping her companion's shoulder.  
  
The mixed emotion she was feeling was unbelievable. Was this how it felt to be in love? Was this truly how it felt when another love you back and wants to fulfill his promises to you? Sighing deeply, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice raw. The masculine scent of his made her swoon. It wasn't at all overpowering but instead, made her feel calm and pleasant.  
  
"Umm... I'm fine." She stuttered, suddenly feeling insecure. She flushed a light pink, to have him hover over her like that. Spotting the small dragon tail at the end of his head, she wondered what it would look like if that came out. But of course, he was monk. It would be a sin if that would be taken out.  
  
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Miroku asked, releasing his hold on her arm. He felt a smile tug the ends of his mouth, as she looked so much like a goddess, a few strands of hair framing her lean face. Her flushed complexion made him secretly wish he were the one who made her do that.  
  
But he had.  
  
"Well... You know that promise that...you made with me? Do... I mean... Are you still with me on that promise?" she asked nervously, her eyes peeled to the ground as she muttered the words.  
  
"Yes."  
  
That was all he needed to say.  
  
She smiled back, her eyes twinkling as he grinned. "Of course Sango," he said humorously, wrapping an arm around her. It inched slowly down her backside to a familiar spot.  
  
Smack!  
  
"Mou! Houshi-sama!" she cried out, and glared at him.  
  
"Ah... Sango-chan... He did it again?" Kagome merely smiled and rested a hand on her friend's shoulder.  
  
Once again sighing, Sango put a hand to her forehead, and felt a soft purring emit from Kirara as she rubbed her forehead against the palm of her hand. The couple had walked into the hut, back from the main part of the village.  
  
"Okay, tonight's dinner. Well the villagers gave us some daikon*, some other veggies, and fruit. So basically, tonight's dinner will be stew. I brought some miso from my time, so we can make some miso soup." Kagome stated, rummaging through her backpack to find the miso.  
  
Inuyasha poked his head outside the door, watching the sun slowly go down. "How did you get all this stuff?" Shippou asked, opening the food wrapped in cloth.  
  
"Inuyasha did some errands for them." She responded, ruffling the orange haired boy.  
  
"Oh." was his answer.  
  
**^^**  
  
"Oi... Watcha doin' with a big bottle of sake?" Inuyasha asked the perverted monk, who was pouring it into a small glass.  
  
"Drinking of course," he answered, downing the liquid.  
  
"Stole it?"  
  
"Yep." He said a little woozily.  
  
"You already got drunk. You wouldn't ever say yes to a question like that. Bet I could beat you..." Inuyasha muttered, grabbing the sake bottle and pouring himself a little.  
  
"Wouldn't do that if I were you... You might do something that I don't think you would want to do," Miroku mumbled, setting the little handcrafted bowel like cup down onto the ground.  
  
"Heh. What you don't know about youkai is that they don't get as drunk as easily as humans do." Inuyasha retorted, smirking.  
  
**^^**  
  
"Nngh.." Inuyasha groaned, rubbing his aching temples. He had fallen asleep in the futon, right after challenging Miroku to a drinking contest. More like fallen onto the futon... He had won, but had gotten terribly drunk.  
  
"Inuyasha, you stupid pig!"  
  
That insult made him roll over in the futon, burying his face inside the cloth.  
  
"I've never thought that you would actually do that! A little harmless fun, I'll show you harmless fun!" Kagome screamed, her eyes burning with anger.  
  
"Leave me the fuck alone, Kagome," he mumbled, not moving a muscle.  
  
She steamed, pulling at his ear. "Don't tell me that."  
  
He yelped, swatting at her hand.  
  
She huffed and stormed into a corner.  
  
Feeling nauseous, he buried his head into the sheet, clamping his ears down onto his head. "Uhnn..." he moaned pitifully as his pounding head made him even feel sicker than he had ever felt before.  
  
"Kagome..." he called out through his tangled and matted hair.  
  
"What?" she half-heartedly snapped, her voice irritated.  
  
"Get me that medicine that makes the pain go away.." he grumbled, exhaling.  
  
"Look for it yourself. I'm still angry at you." Kagome faced the doorway, her hair falling down her back in wavy ringlets. Her white maternity sundress made her look so angelic, and with her raven black hair, she looked just like an angel.  
  
It was too early to start fantasizing about her. Having not been so close with her in a long while, he had grown restless and often wanted her attention. He clicked his tongue and dragged himself near her, resting his arms around her shoulders. He laid his head against the crook of her neck and inhaled the scent of hers that made him absolutely insane with desire.  
  
"Inuyasha you smell like sake," she commented, but stroked a lone ear.  
  
He mumbled words into her collarbone, and closed his eyes. Her scent was so delicate and pleasing, his hangover seemed to have just disappeared. But that was impossible of course.  
  
Inuyasha sighed, locking his hands together around her. She turned around, falling into his lap. He stroked her abdomen once, noticing that it had swelled even more.  
  
"Demon pregnancies tend to be shorter than human ones. Usually they're about seven to eight months, but maybe six."  
  
She looked up, surprised. "What about ours?"  
  
"Maybe seven. It looks like it," he yawned and fell to the floor, holding her to him.  
  
She closed her eyes and leaned against him, grasping his hand lightly.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked, his voice slurred a bit.  
  
"Hnn? About midmorning."  
  
Sighing once again, Inuyasha got up reluctantly, cradling her body to him. "Get up." He said, and stood up himself.  
  
"What happened to your hangover?" she asked.  
  
"Demons don't get long ones like humans do," he muttered, and got dressed, pulling his haori on.  
  
**^^**  
  
"Hmm... Whatever happened to Inuyasha and Kagome-sama? They're still in the hut," Miroku mentioned, stroking his chin.  
  
"Don't think dirty, Houshi-sama!" Sango warned, her hand twitching.  
  
He ignored her, and thought some more. But the thinking made his head ache a little.  
  
"Shippou-chan, don't get into trouble, alright? I'll send Kirara to go with you," Sango said in a motherly way.  
  
"Okay I promise," Shippou smiled and ran off with Kirara, chasing the little sparrows.  
  
Inuyasha walked out of the hut, where Miroku and Sango were sitting, watching Shippou play near the stream.  
  
"Ah, Inuyasha, how were the morning's pains?" Miroku chuckled, briefly remembering.  
  
"Keh! All because of your damned sake..." he mumbled on, recalling the slight nausea and headaches.  
  
Kagome followed closely behind, and sat down next to Sango. They started to converse about the wondrous technology of the 20th century.  
  
Miroku scratched his head, and it looked like he was thinking... What was he up to now?  
  
"God, Miroku... Keep that up and I'll rip your fucking hand off. You don't know how annoying it sounds, scratching your head."  
  
He just ignored Inuyasha, and looked away.  
  
**^^****^^****^^****^^****^^**  
  
Well, sorry for the long wait, but I guess I'm busy. You might think I'm a little weird, but I think my body is possessed by something. Or my room perhaps. Whenever I walk into my room, I feel very sad, and I have the urge to cry or something. But I do end up tearing a bit... But this overwhelming sadness and this agony are just so strange. Maybe it's just a form of my emotions. Anyways, enough talk about that.  
  
I wish you all a nice belated holiday, no matter religion you are, Happy Passover, I feel a bit sympathetic because of your inability to eat anything with flour in those days, and I wish you a Happy Easter, Christian, Catholic, and all other religions I do not know. Well, I know one with a very long name, but I just can't remember it. My friend believes in that long name religion. She's like half French Canadian or something.  
  
See you,  
  
Miyuki-Chan 


	11. What I Need Is You

Hmm... I have a rather important announcement to make.  
  
**I DO NOT WRITE FOR YOU PEOPLE**.  
  
I write for myself to help improve my writing skills. Do NOT tell me the following:  
  
"Please hurry with another chapter!"

"DO A NEW CHAPTER!"

"PLEASE READ MY FICS!"  
  
I know you may admire my writing or something, but please don't pressure me. I have a life of my own too, just like you. My name isn't Miyuki-Chan5. Please, I beg of you, I need some time of myself and not all writing fanfics for you. Thank you very much.  
  
Also, this chapter takes place a WHILE after the baby is born... Maybe a year or two.

* * *

**Drops of Blood  
  
Chapter 11  
  
What I Need Is You**

* * *

"Kagome?"  
  
Hearing him call for her name, she rolled over, her gown getting caught on his claws. She shivered as her naked shoulders peeked out of the blanket. Groaning, she grasped his hand and untangled the threads from his fingers.  
  
She smiled as she glanced at the golden band around his fourth finger and then peered at hers. All the memories came back to her. When the baby, now named Kaida, was born, when they were finally married, and then when Inuyasha built the house.  
  
He grinned weakly and held her close, cradling her warmth. Setting a drugging kiss onto her lips, he dragged her body across the ledge as he rolled over.  
  
She shrieked, her head dangling over the edge.  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
Looking up at the intruder, she gasped lightly as she saw Shippou's slightly tall teenage figure glance at her, smirking.  
  
"Shippou, get out."

* * *

Relieved that she hadn't slept nude that night, she continued to tie up her hair. Her outfit was simple, a mere tank top with stretch pants. Straightening her back, she wiped a finger across the fogged mirror. The steam felt nice against her skin, so fresh. Cleaning the indoor spring with a towel, she sighed. Walking out of the bathroom, she tripped on her slipper and landed on the hard wooden floor.  
  
"Mou... Stupid slipper," she huffed and stood up, stroking her injured back.  
  
Strolling back into the bedroom, she saw her beloved changing out of his bedclothes. Smiling gently, she embraced him and gave him a chaste kiss.  
  
"Kaida awake yet?" he asked, pulling on his simple white undershirt on. Kagome shook her head no. Shippou had probably gone into the village to visit again. He tended to wake up early and set out for things. He had grown up about a year ago, now in the teenage stage.  
  
"You done?" she questioned him, slightly impatient. He feigned a look of hurt and smirked. Traveling to the end of the hallway to their daughter's room, he playfully nipped the back of her neck.  
  
They found her still sleeping, cuddled in light blanket. Kagome walked over to her bed and removed the covers. Picking her up slowly, she brushed the bangs out of her eyes and gently shook her awake.  
  
"Mama," she murmured, wrapping her arms around her neck. Her black tipped ears swiveled to one direction and relaxed.  
  
"Come on Kaida, wake up,"  
  
(A/N: Kaida is about 2 years old at the moment.)  
  
Her eyes opened and she reached for her father, outstretching her arms.  
  
Inuyasha held her close, still unsure of how to care for her. He had changed a lot since she was born. He tended to forget sometimes not to curse, but often refrained from using them. He still had his past on his mind a lot, and was more sensitive about talking about things like being affectionate...  
  
Setting her down so Kagome could help her dress, he left the room, uncomfortable that he could not even care for his daughter in a way that Kagome could. It was wrong to blame himself, he knew that, because the fact that he gave up his childhood when he was still small was the only thing he worried about.  
  
Strangely glancing at the door at which he just walked out of, she gave a worrying look, brushing her daughter's hair with a brush.

* * *

"Fuck." Cracking his knuckles, he felt an urge to use 'sankon tessou' on a tree...  
  
Feeling uneasy since this morning, he slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. It was an odd sight, since when do you see an adult hanyou lying on the floor half-naked with his hands behind his head?  
  
Plucking the undershirt off, he sighed and dug his claws into the wooden floor, angrily frowning. It was burning, not just the heat outside. He felt like dying.  
  
Something was wrong, that something felt just like, Kouga.  
  
Kagome stood outside of the house with Inuyasha, with a firm grip on her wrist. He had rather angrily told her about Kouga. He felt it; he was coming here soon.  
  
"He hasn't come seen us for a long time, ever since Naraku's death..." she muttered, knowing the fact that Kouga hadn't given back the kakera.  
  
A flash of brown whirled in front of her, and it revealed itself as Kouga. He came by himself, his pack members not visible.  
  
"So inu-korro finally mated you?" he rather crudely asked.  
  
She nodded, visibly shifting towards Inuyasha. He smelt her sudden fear and stroked a finger down her arm, comforting her.  
  
"Here are the kakera you've been waiting for... They got stolen," Kouga sheepishly grinned and handed them to her, holding onto her hand a little longer than necessary.  
  
"Oi, get your hands off her, yaseookami."  
  
"Ja, Kagome, and remember that you'll always have me if that dog shit chooses the dead miko," he commented, not realizing that Kikyou had given up her life right before Kaida was born.  
  
"She died a little while ago," she mentioned quietly, glancing at the ground.  
  
Realizing his mistake, he nodded and set off on a run not as fast before.

* * *

Well, I'm REALLY sorry for not updating so long. Well, things haven't been going too well, and I have been reading other fics for inspiration. Hehe...  
  
Love you all for being so patient xD 


	12. We Need To Talk

Author's Note: **I'm leaving to Japan tomorrow, the 3rd of July. I will be gone until August the 12th. I thank you for your cooperation. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Drops of Her Blood  
Chapter 12  
We Need To Talk  
  
It was late at night. Inuyasha lay next to her, his chest heaving. Kagome rolled off his body, her sweat-slicked skin glistening in the moonlight. She picked up her nightgown from the floor and pulled back on, not wanting the same incident to happen again in the morning. He just tugged on his boxers, flushing.  
  
She glanced back at him, a childish shine in her eyes. But it was lost in a few seconds, as she remembered what had happened that morning.  
  
"How come you left this morning when I was dressing Kaida?" she paused, "it was sort of odd."  
  
He looked down at the sheets and opened his mouth, but no words left it. Finally he began, "I don't know how to..."  
  
She looked at him with a sad smile, cradling his head to her chest. "Inuyasha... You don't have to explain. I understand," she crooned as she embraced him.  
  
He smeared the wetness away from her eyes, and held her close.  
  
Kagome sniffed, wiping her eyes. "But you should have told me. You are a great father; you do know how to take care of her. I know you can."  
  
He breathed against her neck, holding onto her tightly. His lips latched onto a piece of her skin, lightly suckling it. She sighed and slumped against him, exhausted. But suddenly, she drew away.  
  
"You better not give me a hickey," she said in a low voice, pressing an offending finger at his cheek.  
  
"Hic-key? What the hell is that?"  
  
"A bruise! You k-know.." she stuttered, "..those love bites."  
  
He just rolled his eyes.

* * *

It was only two hours after Inuyasha had fallen asleep. It was very late at night, or very early in the morning, depends on how you look at it. But it all comes down to, if the moon is there or if the sun is there. The moon wins.  
  
Kagome hugged the pillow. She missed her family, Mama, Souta, Jii-chan, and Buyo. She wanted to show them how she had grown older, matured. Show them Kaida. It was never like this before; she never wanted to go back there, because she had everything here. In Sengoku Jidai.  
  
She turned over in the bed, snuggling against Inuyasha's chest, breathing in his musky scent. He roused, stroking her cheek.  
  
"What are you doing? You okay?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head in response, closing her eyes.  
  
"Would it be okay if we went to my time? To see everyone?"  
  
He nodded, and closed his eyes too.

* * *

She carefully combed Kaida's silken tresses, as she lightly rubbed in some water to tame it. Inuyasha sat on the smaller, miniature bed that Kaida slept in, and held his daughter's outfit in his hands.  
  
"Otou-san! What did you pick me?" she jumped enthusiastically as her mother finished fixing her hair into neat pigtails. [A/N: my cousin is three, and she speaks very well. Has a wide vocabulary. =)]  
  
He handed her a summer yukata decorated with bright and well- coordinated colors. There were big polka dots everywhere.  
  
"Okaa-chan, help me put it on!" she toddled over to Kagome, and they both laughed, smiling.  
  
Removing Kaida's bedclothes, she pulled a white tanktop over her and began to dress her in the yukata. Adding the final touches, like tying the obi into a fancy knot, or fixing the collar, Kagome wrapped her arms around her, gazing into the mirror.  
  
Inuyasha stared at them. They looked so much alike. Even the small things, like the beauty marks on Kagome. Kaida had some of the same ones in the same areas too. But he doubted that she had the one that she had on her ass...  
  
He grinned, slightly tickling the space under Kagome's arm. "Will you stop that? It tickles!" Kagome giggled, and pinched his cheek.  
  
They fell to the floor, Kagome with Kaida in her arms.

* * *

"Are you ready?" He asked, with Kaida nestled in his haori.  
  
"Yes, just let me grab this, and then I'm ready."  
  
She had brought her old and ragged yellow pack. It was probably time to get a new one, but they really wouldn't need it anymore though, unless they wanted to take a vacation or something.  
  
Kagome nodded, and they all jumped together into the old Hone Kui no Ido, the bright blue light welcoming them.  
  
"Gods, I haven't done this in such a while, I'm beginning to feel dizzy," she mumbled, grabbing onto her mate's arm.  
  
They landed onto the smooth ground of the bottom, seeing the roof over their heads. Carefully lifting their precious load, Kaida, and the things they had brought, such as the bag, they climbed up the ladder, holding on tightly.  
  
Kaida began to sniffle, the pollution making her feel uncomfortable. "Otou-san, my nose feels funny and everything is so loud and it hurts!" she held a firm grip on Inuyasha's haori, as tiny droplets fell from her eyes.  
  
"It's okay, you'll get used to it. Don't cry," Inuyasha gently wiped her tears away with his sleeve, and held onto her.  
  
She stopped crying a little while after that, when they got into the house. Kagome removed her shoes and led Inuyasha into the kitchen where her mother always was.  
  
"Kagome? Is that you?" Mama asked, gasping slightly. She hadn't seen her daughter in almost two years, which is quite a long time.  
  
"Yes, it is. I've brought Inuyasha along with me too." Inuyasha nodded his head in respect and used his sleeves to cover everything but Kaida's ears.  
  
"Ooh, tricky, tricky, Kagome. You've hidden your little one except for the ears!" she chuckled and Inuyasha uncovered her and Kaida looked at Mama with an odd look on her face.  
  
"Are you my baa-chan?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.  
  
Kagome flushed, playing with the hem of her tank top. She was still only nineteen, because about two years have passed since her last visit here. She still thought it was a little early to have children, but what can you do? That's the result of not using protection.  
  
Her mother kept rubbing noses with Kaida and stroking her hair, it was sort of funny...  
  
Mama took Kaida out of his arms and led her to the cabinets, where they would start cooking.  
  
"Oi... What is your mother going to do with her?" Inuyasha asked strangely, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, she always does this when children, other than hers of course, come over here,"  
  
He stared at her mother, his mouth slightly open. Typical. All mothers tended to do that with children **other** than their own.  
  
"Kagome, one other thing. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi come over every day at this hour, praying that you'll come back home. I've told them that you moved to another part of the country, where your "boyfriend" lives, because it's better for your health."  
  
"Um, so, we have to hide their ears, right? I mean that we can't let them know about youkai. There are hardly anymore walking around."

* * *

A while later, Kaida and Inuyasha sat on Kagome's old bed, dressed in the clothes of the era, and bandanas.  
  
"Inuyasha, we have to get downstairs, my friends are here!" she said, opening the door quickly and dragging Inuyasha down the stairs.  
  
She heard Mama's voice inviting them in, and she pretended to be doing something in the kitchen while they sat on the couch.  
  
"Kagome-chan! It's really you!" They all squealed and ran up to her, nearly trampled her over.  
  
They bombarded her with questions, until Kaida came down the steps, crying out, "Okaa-chan, when am I supposed to come down here?"  
  
"Oh my god! Kagome, you have a kid! She's so cute!" They all squealed and ran over to her, examining her.  
  
The parents just sighed, feeling sorry for Kaida. Her cheeks being pulled, her hair being rubbed, her nose being tweaked, and all the possible kid-torture actions.

* * *

Okay, I didn't wait as long as last time. Sorry the chapters are so short. I'm going to Japan tomorrow, and I'm rushing to finish the chapter. I'm so sorry.  
  
Miyuki-Chan5


	13. Pretending

Author's Note: Well, I'm back! It was so fun and I want to go back. I have family back there and I had some good chances to brush up my Japanese. I fluent, but maybe a little under-used because of the limited amount of Japanese speakers here where I live.

Anyhow, thanks for waiting!

P.S. – I watched Inuyasha in Japan. wahaha! x) It's ending in September though...

You know what? Today's the one-year anniversary for this story.

--

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Yomiuri TV and other copyright officials.

--

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 13

Pretending

Kaida started to cry, overwhelmed with the sudden attention. Inuyasha walked over and lifted her off the ground and onto his lap, soothing her.

Kagome gathered her friends into a separate room with comfortable places to sit and talk, and then closed the door. Inuyasha remained in the living area, sitting on the couch with Kaida sniffling.

"Kaida... Stop crying." He positioned the weeping girl in his lap towards his face. She didn't often cry, only when she was uncomfortable in front of people she didn't know. It was common for little kids.

"Buh dey squish my face..." she whined and sniffed, her nose runny. Inuyasha grabbed a tissue from the table next to the couch and instructed Kaida to blow her nose.

* * *

"So, Kagome-chan, where'd you move to? We were wondering were you were until your mother told us that you moved in with your violent boyfriend." Yuka commented, a sly smile on her face.

"I moved to Atami..." Kagome answered, the lie slipping through her teeth. Atami was famous for its hot spring resorts and of course, the beach.

"Oh my god! You moved to Atami? That's only about two hours away with the train or car. We could have visited you, it's been two years!" They all yelled the same kind of thing to her at once.

Kagome was silent. She never wanted to lie, but it was the only way to avoid big news about demons and other unbelievable things.

"What about college? Are you going?" Eri, the most talkative one, had asked that question. She often bugged Kagome about schoolwork, before she met Inuyasha.

Before... It was a long time ago, and she didn't need to think about the past. It was when she was a _normal_ schoolgirl.

"No, I'm not. I have everything I need with Inuyasha." She simply didn't want to think about school. She hadn't really even graduated high school...

Everyone quieted down, and shuffled closer to Kagome. It was Ayumi that broke the silence when she asked, "Kagome-chan, Inuyasha-san is still outside in the living room, and don't you think we should get him inside here?"

"Alright, I will go get him. He's probably still tending to Kaida." Her voice was passive, lacking the usual energy she had. Seeing her friends was great, but they made her feel sad; remembering she had two lives, one here and one on the other side of the well.

Kagome slid the door open and shut it again, seeing Inuyasha was resting on the couch, with Kaida, who was sleeping.

She sat next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I thought this would be great, but all I want to do now, is go home." She sighed, fiddling with her fingers. Being selfish wasn't going to help. She should just deal with it.

"They want to see you." She whispered, as if somebody was going to hear.

She held his hand and slightly pulled him towards the room.

* * *

Her friends had gone home, the truth was still a secret. Her heart wrenched from the feelings she had kept inside for a while, and she wanted to tell them everything. She wanted to tell them so much...

She sat in the bathtub, relaxing into the herbal concoction and the warmth of the water. Her hair flowed down her shoulders, slightly moving back and forth. It was a long time since she had a bath like this one. Most of the ones back... home, were sort of different. Home...

When she began to rub at her skin, she heard a sound at the door. It was going to open the door. "Who is it." she suspiciously asked, panicking, and then getting up quickly to open the door.

"Nee-chan! Oh my god! Sorry!" Souta flushed a deep red when she came out of the tub with no towel. He evidently had all his towels and things with him and didn't know she was in there because she had left all her clothes in her room.

"Mou, he always has to come inside at the wrong time." She moaned in annoyance and covered her body, though it was too late at the time.

Souta was already fifteen, old enough to have perverted thoughts swirling about in his head. But that's just gross. Ugh, with all the years to come, he'll be a pain for Mama.

Sighing, she set the heavy cover over the tub and saved the water for the next person. It was their daily ritual. Well, before she started to go to Sengoku Jidai of course.

Fill the tub at night, cover it with the top till somebody goes in, finish with all the people, and then drain it. In the morning, everyone just showers.

Grabbing the towel hanging on the rack, she quickly ran out of the bathroom and into her own room, where Inuyasha was snoozing with Kaida.

Opening her drawers to find a clean pair of pajamas, she brushed her fingers over the softest cloth and it turned out to be her cotton top and bottom with the faded apples on it.

She remembered when she first got them, a year before she began her search for the kakera. She wore them till she got a new pair, then rotated every two weeks or so. Odd really, but fun.

Her drawers were neat and organized but still, a little unused and the clothes seemed, in some sort of way, stale. She hadn't worn anything since maybe, two years ago.

She dressed quickly and lightly shuffled Kaida out of his arms, to take her to Souta's room. The baby crib was in there since they were little kids, and since it was one that you had to set up in the room, since the door was smaller, it was easier to bring her in there instead.

She faintly whispered, "Inuyasha, take a bath. I'm going to take her to Souta's room."

He mumbled a 'yes' and got up, rubbing his eyes. She was already gone from the room and left a clean smell.

* * *

Kagome set Kaida into the crib, filled with a few pillows and fluffy blankets. Souta sat on his bed, watching Kagome care for her. When she was done, and standing next to him, he was just silent, looking away.

"Souta, doushita?" Kagome asked amusingly, plopping down next to him. He didn't respond immediately.

"Nothing." he murmured. Souta sat on the bed in sweats and a gray t-shirt, pitying himself.

"You've grown up so much. I'm so sorry that I haven't been here." She embraced him gently and tears began to fill her eyes.

"Nee-chan, stop crying..."

Kagome smiled and ruffled his head, softly pinching his earlobe in annoyance. He had a look of irritation on his face and just brushed her hand away.

"I'm sorry about before, when I opened the door." She laughed slightly, when he flushed.

"Speaking about that... What about your girlfriend?" Kagome's eyes filled with sparkle when she asked him that, eager to know what he was about to say.

Souta turned a rather obvious shade of red and scratched his head, embarrassed. He nodded and just stared at his lap.

"She's still my girlfriend. You know, the girl from 5th grade. The one that you guys helped me with." He blushed again, and hid his eyes with his longer bangs. He outgrew the short cut and it was now a shaggy rocker type of style, probably cut with a professional.

Souta also dressed different now, jeans a little looser, shirts a little looser but still fit. He had to wear a uniform, now he was in middle school, but he probably attracted a lot of girls. He wasn't that bad looking, the flawless face, and the attractive eyes. They were all family traits. Even she had the same looks.

"Souta, you have to be careful with girls, okay? I mean, you stay with Hikaru-chan(name?), and don't go sleeping around with other people. I swear I'll wring your head off if I hear you're doing that." She waved a finger at him.

"Nee-chan! No! I'm not going to do that." He had a look of shock on his face as she said the key word, 'sleeping'.

"Good." She felt relieved, knowing Souta and his mischievous ways, that he wasn't that type of person.

"Are you hooking up with her?" She was curious about his life with Hikaru-chan because it was just for his protection. They were close, being siblings, and sometimes he didn't tell Mama everything in his life.

"You mean, like, sex? Or **something** else..." he mumbled quietly, fiddling with his fingers.

"Yes, the first thing." Kagome was stern, and wanted to know the well being of her little brother. She had experienced a lot being in Sengoku Jidai and was very careful of what she did.

"Um, no... Not yet. Maybe close. Not yet." He was really embarrassed that Kagome was asking these things. But he knew that she cared for him, so he should tell the truth.

"Like, what? Touching, stuff like that?" She said her lines very carefully or he would not tell her the truth, or he will feel so embarrassed that he would probably shut up, ignoring her.

"Nee-chan! Can we stop talking about this?" Souta nearly exploded with mortification and couldn't take it anymore.

"No, because I'm only doing this because I have to know about those kind of things. Now if you tell me specifically and answer all my questions, then I'll leave you alone."

Cursing quietly, he elbowed her in the stomach and pouted. He hated to talk about private things with her even though it was better than talking to Mama or Jii-chan about it.

"Well, you don't want her to get pregnant do you?" she asked smugly, smirking.

"No..." he paused and hesitantly stared back at her.

"Exactly. That is why I'm talking to you about these things! You do not want to end up like me, with a kid at nineteen." There. She finally said what she wanted to say to him.

He was quiet, as he realized why she was taking the time to talk to him about it. She didn't want him to become like her. She wanted better of him, to live through his life while he's still young.

"Okay. I get the point Nee-chan." He bit his lip, knowing that he and Hikaru had been doing some stuff... Not exactly sex, but maybe a little close. They weren't exactly doing the right thing, and well, it's obvious.

"Goodnight Souta."

She got up from the bed and then was dangerously close to his clothes drawer. She knew what was in there. He stared wide-eyed at her, as she began to open the smallest drawer.

"Souta, I know what you're hiding in here. I saw you earlier trying to hide it from me before I came in here you know." Grinning maniacally at him, she pulled out the white object at him.

"It's her underwear! Souta you perv!" She threw at his face and laughed as she shut the door.

He groaned and glared at the door, horrified that she had known. But of course, she was Nee-chan, the know it all. Of course she would've known.

Slumping in the bed, he turned off the light and closed his eyes. "Stupid Nee-chan..." he muttered before turning over to lie on his stomach.

* * *

Kagome looked back at the door once more before bursting in giggles again. She was surprised Kaida hadn't woken up during their conversation. That was absolutely hilarious though. She had seen him stuffing it in his drawers before she went into the shower.

Inuyasha yawned and came out of the bathroom, clad in only a towel. He looked very tired, hence the yawn.

"Mou, Kagome, what the fuck are you laughing about?" He rolled his eyes and slipped on one of her oversized shirts and bottoms. The bottom was just plain black, which she often wore if she felt bloated. It was so huge on her; she would have to use a belt or something to tie it to her waist.

But it made her feel skinny if she felt bloated, because it was so enormous. Her uncle had given it to her as a hand me down from her guy cousin, Takuto. She received a lot of clothes from cousins, even if they were not worn or very worn; she loved to get new clothes.

"You should have been in there with us. I was telling Souta about the "dangers" of sex, and then I saw him earlier stuffing this white thing in his drawers. So after I finished talking to him, I pulled it out and it was his girlfriend's underwear."

She fell down onto the bed, laughing hysterically while Inuyasha just snorted and flicked her on the head with his claws.

He opened the covers and rubbed at his face, tired. She slid in next to him, caressing one of his ears.

"If you don't stop that, I swear I'll pinch you."

Annoyed, she flipped over and pursed her lips. "Fine.." she mumbled, glaring at the alarm clock.

"You're sure not in a possessive mood today." she muttered, annoyed with his 'I'm tired, fuck off.' Mood.

Sighing, he wrapped his arms around her middle and held her close, frowning.

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" Kagome asked him quietly, feeling his hand slip into hers. He nodded in response, his mouth closing around the spot on her neck.

He felt so helpless at that moment. She clung onto his hand, rubbing it softly with her thumb. His head pounded as he closed his eyes, breathing raggedly. He gave a weak whine as she felt his face.

"Inuyasha. Come here." She let him bury his face in her neck, as he shuddered against her. Kagome lightly stroked his back, unsure of why he was suddenly acting this way.

Suddenly, wetness enveloped her hand that she had been using to stroke his back. Her natural instinct was to pull away, but she just looked carefully at her hand, which was covered in a thick, red blood.

Gaping at him, she hastily took off his shirt and examined his back, now welted. Blood slowly dripped down his spine, making her sheets stain.

Crying out his name, she grabbed a towel from her dresser and wiped at his back, no longer bleeding. The welts were red, almost purple. What had he done to himself? And, why?

* * *

Okay, a cliffhanger. Sorry, but it's the anniversary of the first day this came out! The first chapter had a cliffhanger, remember?

Anyways, I'm so sorry I made you wait for this chapter. But it's longer than usual so it's not such a big deal. I'm sure that you will appreciate this chapter because it's a really important one.

For this story, I'm not sure if I'll end it soon or not, but I know it's too soon, and something important just happened in this chapter. So, for the current status, this story is still continuous.

Translations –

Doushita – what happened? Or What's wrong?

Thanks everyone!


	14. Confessing

**Disclaimer**: If I really owned them, would I be writing this? No. I didn't think so.

A/N: I'd really like everybody to really respond to my chapters. I think I need a lot of work on them since I'm so terrible at writing. I'm lacking the things that I usually use, and I'm just really tired. I've made this chapter long because then everyone will be happy! Everybody, you know the drill, please **R&R**. Thanks.

**KawaiiDemons**: I'm so sorry that you were offended about the comment that I left for kill-all-flamers. I didn't know why I left that comment, but sometimes, there are truly strange people that are very obsessed with manga and things but I had not known that it would offend people. I'm sorry that it had made you angry and I think that I deserve your anger. Please accept this apology though it is sort of confusing.

**Bold** – expression

_Italic_ – thinking process

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 14

Confessing

Kagome sat there, no tears flowing from her face, just a stricken look of shock. Her arms were around Inuyasha, as she stared at his back---his horrible welted, bruised back. **What** had he possibly done to himself? She was furious at him. Why had he done this? Who in the right mind had done this to him?

Her face was ashen, almost sickly, and her eyes grew cold. She cared for him, she really did. But he or something had done something they should not have and she was angry about it. Kagome wanted to **shout**, **scream**. What had possessed her to feel such things like this?

Suddenly he stirred. She almost jumped with a jolt. Her hands were in a defensive postion, her eyes wide. Breathing deeply, she calmed herself down, easing herself into a comfortable spot on the bed.

His eyes flickered open, so much so that she just stared at his face, waiting for him to awaken. He mumbled her name so softly that she swore that he hadn't said anything. She sat there waiting for him as she clutched his pale hand.

"Kagome."

She released a breath that she hadn't even noticed holding. So relieved that he was not dead, she bit her lip in anticipation. He had just spoken her name, not even regaining consciousness just yet. Aching to see his sparkling golden eyes, she sighed and waited.

_Wake up._

_For me._

Kagome had fallen asleep waiting, her head just nodding off. When she had awoken the next morning, she saw that he was still dozing and his body had moved to another space on her bed.

Looking at him dearly for a moment, she glanced at her digital clock and saw it was still very early, around five forty five. Rolling her eyes, she opened the old door and shut it quietly, wandering out in the hallway.

She listened to the sounds around her, the quiet snoring of Jii-chan in his room, her mother's TV left on in her room. They were usual sounds that she woke to every morning before she started to live in the past.

Sinking to the floor, her eyes drooped a little, but she was still awake. Kagome gazed at the floor, eyeing several shiny pieces of glass scattered around leading into the bathroom. She got up and stepped carefully into the bathroom, where she found the glass art piece that used to be on the wall shattered with traces of blood drops on them.

_Maybe Inuyasha just happened to bump into that idiotic thing_. Chuckling at her stupidity, she grabbed the broom out of the closet and swept up the mess and into the garbage it went.

Slightly grinning, she stepped inside the water, still finding it hilarious that Inuyasha had bumped into that art thing. She exhaled deeply as she found the water just at the right temperature. The automatic heater had done its work well. The heat rippled through the heat, warming her thighs. Steam was rising off her body as she lifted an arm to rest it on the side.

She glanced out of the window that viewed the street. Noticing the working people run or walk down the street, their heels and their fancy black shoes clacking along the road, rushing. All sorts of people were riding their bicycles or walking along the busy area. Although it was still early, they left at a certain time to catch a train before the rush hour.

Kagome was very familiar with this rush hour time. When she had been going to school, she had always ran in the train station to catch the earliest and fastest train to her school in a different area. She and her friends often met at a certain place to grab something to bite before going to school. She smiled at the memory, and wondered if she was really a normal girl. On the second thought, no, she **wasn't** a normal girl.

Getting up from the tub, she closed the lid once again and walked back into the room with a towel on, searching in her drawers and her closet for some decent clothes to wear. She grabbed her under things, matching of course, and a graphic t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans.

Inuyasha was still lying there on the bed, the covers lain across his body. It was a good time to wake him, but she decided to after she brushed her teeth. Walking into a separate bathroom with only a sink, toilet, and toiletries, she combed her hair out, adding in a little styling cream to smooth the little frizz she had out and blew dry it so it was straight.

Brushing her teeth slowly and catching every corner of her mouth, she spit out the toothpaste and rinsed out her mouth of the foamy substance. Her creams and lotions were organized inside a pastel colored container that divided her things. Washing her face thoroughly, she added on her desired creams and dabbed on some gloss and a little bit of liner then slightly curled her lashes. She hated to add too much makeup and too much of it always got her pores filled and she ended up getting blackheads or pimples. Inuyasha also hated the artificial smell it gave her skin...

Dashing back into her room, she shook him a little to awaken him and took the blankets off, making him shiver a bit. "Wake up!" she announced, loud and clear so he could hear her.

Moaning, he turned over and got up from the bed, nearly collapsing onto her. He was heavy, and she almost toppled over, his weight on her. His strong arms were hanging loosely around her neck and his shoulders met with hers. Inuyasha's head rested in the hollow of her neck, breathing in and out slowly.

"Inuyasha. Please wake up," Kagome whispered into his furry little ear, which she loved. It twitched slightly and drooped once again, as it had been before. Rolling her eyes, she pinched his cheek, slightly pursing her lips in impatience. Feeling him wince a little against her exposed skin, he drowsily walked out of the room and into the bathroom.

Glad that he had **finally** woken up and gone to take a shower, she decided to clean her dusty old room until it was squeaky clean. Prancing out foolishly, she grabbed some sprays and the vacuum and started her big chore.

She was dusting around her shelves when she came across her old textbooks from middle school and the beginning of highschool and her activity books from elementary. Maybe she could teach Kaida later on with these books! It was so exciting, reading over her old curriculum to review what to teach to Kaida.

Then there was her album. There were photos of her friends, a few of Houjo, many of their group in the past. The last one taken was the last time they had collected a jewel shard, two years ago. She still hung it around her neck; concealing it with her clothes and a special protection charm she renewed every month. News about the jewel was old and forgotten. Their famous battle of course, would be remembered forever.

Moving on, trying to rid the thought of the jewel, she finished dusting and stored the cleaning things away and began to order her drawers. Opening the top one (or the fourth one), which stored her bottoms, she organized by type. Jeans, khakis, etc. They were laid straight and pushed together for extra space.

Then she moved on to the next one, which stored her tops (t-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops etc.). They were all sort of stale like she had remembered when she opened her pajama drawer yesterday. Organizing them the same way she did for the pants, Kagome wiped the sweat away from her brow.

Her pajama drawer was already organized yesterday and she found that she was at the last drawer, her undergarments drawer. She was surprised that Inuyasha hadn't stolen anything from it and worshipped it secretly. He constantly ran into them, when discovering her secret stash of feminine care items—always at the bottom of her backpack.

It embarrassed her greatly when he asked her what they were and what they were used for. Sango-chan usually engaged in a fit of laughter whenever she saw him dangling in front of her face, both her underwear and bra hanging from one hand and a package of her tampons resting in another. When he realized what they were for, he knew never to dig in her backpack for ramen again.

Having an attack of giggles herself, remembering those memories, she felt small tears in her eyes when she thought of those things. She desperately wanted to bond with all of them once again. But those were times that you looked back at.

Slipping into her desk seat, she rested her head in her palms, staring at letters from friends and pictures around her. Her life was a **mess**. Having a baby, starting life with Inuyasha, there were so many responsibilities. Everything was crazy, she had to agree. _When can my life be normal again? I wonder..._

Normal. That was a word that she never understood. Why was that word even in existence? It did not have a meaning, only **you** would know. What is normal to you? It was either opinion or something else. It's not really something that you can explain once you think about it.

One of part of her wanted to start everything over. Another part wanted to stay where it was and keep on moving. So many years she had wasted. So many things that she could have done better. Was her life beginning to perfect itself from there on?

It was one of those days that she began to cry on her desk. She remembered the days before when she had done that when she failed a test, messed up at school, was angry at Inuyasha for being with Kikyou. She wanted to meet Kikyou again even though she had already passed on. Why? Ask her about Inuyasha of course.

Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha. She could say his name a hundred times and never grow tired of it. She loved it, she loved him. Her life was going to be spent loving, caring, for **him**. He promised to be beside her for as long as he could. Her response would be the same.

Biting her lip, she realized that he was watching her. Flipping her head back a little, she knew how he felt. Her heart felt him. He was confused and she knew why. "I know, don't look at me like that." She smiled, getting up and reaching for him.

"Why are you crying? Oi, Kagome, look at me." His nose twitched, making her smile wider.

She laughed and cried, sort of. Her smile was sort of twisted, but she squeezed him, putting her small frame into his large one. His eyes held softness as he slowly licked the corner of her ear. She flushed pink; embarrassed that he licked a spot that made her feel strange. He grinned, slightly chuckling. She grabbed his haori and hung it near the window with a special hanger.

He sat on her made bed, wiping his hair with the small towel he had around his shoulders. When she sat next to him, she smiled, reaching for his hand. He clutched hers, tapping her fingers with his claws. It was still early, not everybody was up yet, although she was noisy with the vacuum machine.

She kneeled in back of him, drying his hair for him, lightly caressing his ears. She blushed and set her mouth on one of them, feeling the softness flick against her tongue. Guess she had an ear fetish...

Lightly grimacing, he opened his mouth in a silent moan. Pulling away, she giggled and bounced off the bed, sticking her tongue out at him silly. Pouting at her, he growled and poked her stomach, rolling his eyes.

"If you're going to stick your tongue out, use it for something better." Inuyasha commented, smirking.

Gasping, she pointed at him and replied sharply, "Ear molester!"

"You did too," he mumbled.

Pursing her lips childishly, she went off to wake everyone up for breakfast. Inuyasha followed along, helping her with the screaming and shaking up, not that it was particularly needed.

"Souta," she said softly, kneeling at his bed, patting his arm. He rolled over, opening his eyes slowly, yawning. Slowly rubbing his face, he quietly said good morning to them and walked off into the hallway leading to the bathroom.

Tending to Kaida, Inuyasha hoisted her up and woke her, patting her head and bringing her over to where Kagome was. Carefully carrying her down the stairs, she went off to cook breakfast.

---

Okay, I was so busy this week, but here's a new chapter. I'm really sorry for the trouble I've caused for the person I've offended. Please forgive me for what I've done. It is all right that you don't though. I am not going to say anything bad or get mad.

Thank you for everything.


	15. Returning Home

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Viz, Yomiuri TV, and etc. Please don't sue because I'm using these characters because I have not claimed them.

**A/N**: Everyone what has happened to you? Are you all not wanting to REVIEW? Just kidding! But please fulfill my request! Please respond to my chapters to see if my writing is very bad or good so I can know to make them better. Anyway, thanks for the wait, here's a new update. Also, remember to **R&R**.

**Bold** – expression from person speaking, etc.

_Italic_ – thinking process of a character.

- translation on bottom of chapter.

---

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 15

Returning Home

---

"Mama!" Kagome walked over to her, Kaida in one arm, her mother around her other. She and Inuyasha greeted her and Kagome began to prepare breakfast with her mother, setting Kaida with Inuyasha. He grumbled and watched his mate dash over to one side of the kitchen to the other every five minutes to grab ingredients from the cupboards and window ledges.

From his view, he could see her body shape and it was very skinny. She was fairly tall and thin. Although you couldn't imagine how puffed up she looked when she was pregnant with Kaida. Her figure was leaner and longer than her mother, even though she was only a few centimeters taller, about three.

Maybe she hadn't been eating well these past days… Probably. Back in the past, sometimes the food wasn't as good. Sometimes the fields were ruined by the weather or some pesky rabbits digging holes. Youkai too.

"Inuyasha… It's ready. I've been calling you for the past two minutes." He heard Kagome's voice and blinked, realizing he must have zoned out for a while, thinking about things. Nodding, he noticed Souta yawning at the table, his head resting in his arms. Buyo sat on his shoulder; his fatty paws leaning over and scratching his ear.

When he thought he saw Kagome near the sink, he then discovered that she was running up the stairs to wake her grandfather. In a second, he heard a muffled bang and some complaining when she had speeded into the kitchen again, giggling.

"Kagome. What did you do to Jii-chan?" her mother asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just told him that breakfast was ready and if he didn't come down, I would ransack his room while he would be away," she said calmly, grinning in the process.

Souta shrugged and looked at Inuyasha who also shrugged. They both knew that Jii-chan was easy to bother and easy to annoy and get yelled at. No fun. Kagome in the other hand, was hard to pester at, hard to get on her nerves and screamed only when worst came to worst. That's more fun.

---

Inuyasha twitched as Buyo poked him with one of his paw hairs. As much as he enjoyed pestering the old cat, his hairs would always fly all over the place and make **him **cough up hairballs.

He watched Kagome pin up her hair with a colorful polka dotted hair thing. Leaving a few strands around her face, he wondered if she looked older like that, with her hair up. He guessed that she was going to achieve the more "matured" look. Rushing near her small closet, she pulled out a light grey cashmere cardigan and buttoned it all the way to the middle.

He was sitting on her bed in Souta's jeans, t-shirt and sweatshirt with the concealing spell on him and Kaida who was playing with Buyo but sneezing because of his balding hair. She was still poking at her little modern dress that her grandmother had picked up for her in a toddler's store a few months ago, thinking about her.

Kaida looked amazingly cute with two tiny braids on the sides of her head and she squealed when her mother picked her up and kissed her forehead, cooing. Kagome made the signal to go and whispered to him, "We're going on the train so please, **please**, don't make a fool of yourself. Remember, they aren't demons to hurt anybody so just be quiet about anything that disturbs you. I'll explain to you later what those things are if you ask me."

They greeted the family farewell till later and walked out into the street, flying down the stairs. Not literally. Just hurrying down and having fun is more like it. Gazing at his mate, he noticed that she was carrying Kaida, who was light and easy to handle. She was calming her when she noticed all the people around her and the strange things all around her.

He felt relief when he realized that nobody was looking at him strangely or anything. Being on the spotlight for many years, he was oddly boosted with happiness when people weren't staring and pointing and yelling "DEMON!"

They reached the train station with people pouring out of one side. It wasn't rush hour, but Kagome had explained that one side was always busy because it was the express line exit. They climbed the steps and she purchased the tickets for them from an odd looking machine with glowing lights.

She explained briefly to just stick it in the machine when they got into the line and if he didn't understand, to just copy what she did. So he did. Kaida's ticket was an infant ticket so it was free but still just a ticket that came out of the machine to show that they had a passenger. Kaida was sleeping in Kagome's arms and she looked so peaceful even though the sounds around the station were sort of loud.

Grasping his hand, Kagome ran up the stairs when she heard the announcement that the train was coming in two minutes. She had selected the local because it was less congested and stopping at their destination, Shinjuku. A very busy place but good for shopping.

They were standing in a fairly occupied car, which rocked back and forth, making Kaida's sleep deeper. The ones sitting were the elderly or tired ones, or just adults that wanted to read or something like that. It wasn't all that crowded so you didn't have to give up a seat to an elder or anything. Usually in the morning, you would have to because the trains get crowded.

"Just listen to the announcement for Shinjuku. You'll know what it's talking about." Kagome whispered, shuffling closer into Inuyasha's hold because she couldn't grab a holder from the ceiling of the car because of Kaida in her arms.

"_Mamonaku, Nakano desu, o deguchiha hidari no hou desu. Onorikaiha, Chuo sen, Saikyou sen, to Marunouchi sen de gozaimasu. Arigatou gozaimashita_."

They made their way to Nakano and then only a few more stops to go until Shinjuku. Once they slowed to reach Nakano, a rush of hot air came into the train making the air sort of tropical. All sorts of people came into the car, playing with their cell phones or listening to music; an assort of things.

They watched a couple in another car, which was deserted, spraying a red can under each other's arms, laughing like crazy. The man wore a baseball cap with various patches on it and a lose graffiti like shirt. They were really weird to Inuyasha because he had never seen such outgoing people doing such odd things in public.

"Oi, Kagome, look at them. They're so crazy," he commented, feeling her nod in agreement.

"We were stupid like that once, we still are," she mumbled, pinching his side.

Inuyasha grinned and they had reached Shinjuku while they were conversing. They happily got off the silver striped yellow train and walked down the steps, nearly running over a few hurrying people.

She was careful with Kaida because she had awoken and started to sniffle a little. They climbed down the steps of another staircase and walked right into the entrance of the nearest department store.

Taking the escalator (Yes, Inuyasha looked like he was going to kill it) to the children's section, his eyes widened at all the various colors of clothing around him, looking briefly at one piece to another. Kagome calmly went over to Kaida's size area and glanced at each dress that she liked, feeling the texture and pattern.

Asking softly which ones she had liked, they chose two and she dragged Inuyasha over to the pants and t-shirts area. They already had tons of yukatas and kimonos and all sorts of things back home so she had to have some modern clothes. She didn't have many because they hadn't bought any since she was born and all she wore were the traditional clothing of the villagers and a few articles of clothing from her mother.

They left to another floor, leading to an undergarment section with different types of ladies' undergarments. He blinked at the familiar lingerie that Kagome wore under her clothes and he stared at the women poking and examining a few. Blushing when he realized that this was the underwear section of the floor, he looked at her uncomfortably. She asked one of the ladies working there to measure her size and handed Kaida over to him for a second. It turned out to be different from her size from before and she took Kaida back and followed the lady over to find some nice ones that she might like.

Standing against a column near the escalator, he told her discreetly that he'd be waiting there till she was done buying those items. He didn't know why he was so embarrassed, but it just seemed strange to have a husband next to you when you're buying bras and panties.

She had purchased those items and they again went on the escalator and to floor seven for the junior and young lady department. Now he knew what it felt like to be dragged around a department store waiting for your wife or girlfriend to buy things. It was tiring for the men, and delightful for the women.

Squealing as she saw a very cute shirt with a v-neck and realizing that she could layer on with other pieces of clothing like halter tops and colorful tank tops, Kagome rushed over to that area, where they had very vintage like styles and colorful tops and bottoms.

---

It had become late afternoon when they were taking a very vacant train. She had to go to one more place, a big pharmacy to buy some items for the house and for herself. She was going to check out the local stores for groceries though, that's another.

"Mou, Kagome, are we done yet? Look, Kaida is really tired and so am I, we spent the whole freaking day shopping for things." He moaned and complained while Kagome stroked his cheek, mumbling to calm down.

"I'll go to the pharmacy and you can look with me. It'll only take about fifteen minutes because there isn't much to buy there. Sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you tonight, somehow," she murmured softly, her eyes twinkling.

Nodding, he walked into the pharmacy with her and noticed she already had a few things in her basket. Her bleeding stuff, that idiotic makeup that she wore sometimes and gave to Sango, and a box of baby wipes. They came to a section he briefly remembered from going to the pharmacy with her a while back.

"Inuyasha… Sorry I forgot, but what _size_ are you?" She blushed a fair pink; fiddling with a box of those **things** that he hated so much.

"What the hell? How should I know?" he countered back, glaring back at her, getting red in the face as well.

"It's your thing…" Kagome mumbled, turning her head and grabbing a random box that she hadn't even glanced at.

As soon as she turned around the corner, she bumped into a brown haired man that looked really familiar to her. He stared at her a while and then his eyes lit up suddenly, a big smile breaking out on his face.

"Higurashi! What a surprise! How are you?" the man asked, nearly toppling her over. He wore a gray t-shirt and jeans, with flat sneakers.

"Ah, Houjou-kun. I'm fine, and you?" She too smiled at him, instinctively hiding her basket around her back slightly, just enough to hide the box of those **things** and her sanitary items.

Inuyasha turned around the corner too, seeing the 'Hobo' that he had rivaled against for years even though he had never met him before. Kaida started to whine in his arms, and he settled her down by rubbing her back.

"Is that your husband? Or someone else you know?" Houjou questioned her, not really caring whichever it was.

"Um, this is Inuyasha, my husband. Kaida is my daughter." Kagome answered uneasily, squeezing Inuyasha's hand tightly.

"Yeah. Uh, hey. How you fairing with Kagome?" Winking slightly, Houjou chuckled.

"Great. Known her for a long time," he said reluctantly, faking a grin.

Kaida nervous hid between the space in Inuyasha's neck, sort of nervous and scared of Houjou because of his sudden friendliness with her parents.

"Anyway, I have to go because somebody's waiting for me in the car. I only came here to buy a bottle of water."

"Bye," Kagome muttered, waving slightly.

Sighing in relief that Houjou hadn't had a clue about what she was buying, she turned to the cashier and fumbled with her wallet. The cashier looked strangely at her because she saw Inuyasha next to her with Kaida.

Blushing, she looked away and quickly paid and ran off with them out into the street. They walked for while before Kagome glanced at the school before her. It was hers. The school that she had been attending until four years ago was standing right there before her eyes.

"Do you remember what this is?" she asked quietly, untying and tying the knots on Kaida's string that held her dress.

"Yeah. It's your school…" he mumbled softly, holding them closer to his body.

Not wanting to deal with the sight of her old school, she ran down the street, having Inuyasha follow close behind her. Stopping again, she cursed slightly and then crossed the street.

"Kagome!" He yelled after her, grabbing her arm to stop her. He saw her face, all blotchy from the tears coming out of her eyes.

"You just don't understand!" she screamed back, careful not to drop her baby.

She ran again. This time she ran all the way home, with Inuyasha following from the trees. He knew that she was upset because she could never finish school and get an education like everyone else did. He knew that she was mad because he was one of the reasons she couldn't. But, he also knew that it didn't matter.

"Kagome, look at me." he demanded her, placing a hand under her chin, making her face him.

She refused but then sighed, looking up at him. Her tears were gone, but they left several blotchy and stained spots on her face. Nodding, she walked up beside him, crying slightly against his chest, Kaida in between everything.

There were no words at all, just emotions and body movements. They didn't speak; they never opened their mouths. She just silenced him when he opened his mouth with her finger, running the pad along the edge.

He just grasped her hand and she snatched it back, using it to balance Kaida against her hip. He had his eye on her, glancing at her and then flushing a bright red when he realized he stared at her too much.

"Are you okay?" she asked, blinking.

Hastily nodding his head like it would've come of, she stared at him strangely and yelled a loud "Tadaima!"

Everyone acknowledged their presences went back to their own little world, doing their own things and going about cleaning, playing, and reading. Angrily running after Kagome as she stuck her tongue out at him, Inuyasha smirked and caught her by the neck, accidentally tripping on Souta's skateboard.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed his name, grasping onto him glad that Kaida was safe in the crib being tended to by her mother.

They fell over one another, landing with a loud echoing sound. She heard somebody laughing in her ear… It was Inuyasha. He was **laughing** in her ear! Laughing!

"It's not funny you know… It's dangerous and you just laugh?" She poked his chest, drilling her finger into the firm chest right before her.

"Uh… Yeah. You got a problem?" he chuckled again, blowing hot air in her face.

-----

Okay, new chapter up! It's not that great though… Just to let you know. Anyway, sorry for the delay again, midterms and all those things were horrible. Some personal troubles too…

Thanks and don't forget to **R&R**.


	16. Odd Times

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Viz, Yomiuri TV, and etc. Please don't sue because I'm using these characters. I have not claimed them!

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews and all ;)

I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, even though it was sort of incomplete and rushed and just horrible! Well, only in my opinion… But I thought it was really badly written and I think I need more practice and yes, I do know that I am criticizing myself. Well, this chapter will have some Souta/Hitomi but the only reason I'm putting this in, is because it's another conflict into the story besides Kaida and Inuyasha's feelings. Hmm, what else do I need to say? I'm so sorry for taking SO LONG. I just don't know how to manage time to write stories, busy with school work, family things, etc. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

**Bold** – expression from person speaking, etc.

_Italic_ – thinking process of a character.

- translation on bottom of chapter.

---

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 16

Odd Times

---

"Well, it's not funny!" Kagome rolled her eyes at him and made a funny noise with her lips as he grinned. Inuyasha just stared back at her when she stared at him, making her more annoyed by the second. He realized that this was really fun, in a weird way.

"Stupid girl, so upset about falling over,"

"What did you say?" she said sarcastically, pursing her lips.

His eyes said 'nothing for you to know' and were twinkling in self-enjoyment. Feeling frustrated and slightly angry, she started to poke his chest again, chiseling her finger into the hard muscle.

"Will you stop that?" he growled at her, pulling at her t-shirt, his claws tickling the flesh of her neck.

Feeling tired suddenly, she got up and started to walk down the hallway. It didn't really look like she was all that upset or anything. Just tired. He felt so surprised that she didn't want to make fun of him or do something else to him, since they were all alone and there was nobody to disturb them.

"Oi… Are you just going to leave me here, bitch?" he mumbled, chasing after her again after the school thing…

She swung her head back and looked at him.

"Why do you always call me that?" she looked up at him angrily and stared at the wall.

"You don't get it. I…"

She looked so confused and she frowned.

"Stop looking at me like that!" he muttered, his eyes cast away from hers. "I'm a dog demon, what else would it mean?"

"You could have said something! I just thought that since you always called me wench or wretch before, that it would be some kind of insulting thing! Besides, in this world, it means an insult," she pointed out, trying to explain.

Giving a small aggravated smile, she pulled at his hand to help her go wash Kaida. "Ok, ok, I get it. Now, hurry up! Today, you are helping me draw a modern bath," she said with a little laugh in her voice.

---

Splashing in the bathtub, Kaida squinted her eyes and clenched at the bottle of baby shampoo and soap. She played with the bar of clear soap by scratching at it with her tiny claws and shaking her hands out in the water to get rid of the residue left in her nails.

"Shh, give me that… I have to clean you up." Kagome said softly, reaching for the bar of soap from her daughter. Quickly forgetting about the soap, Kaida let her mother do the work, although making a ruckus by splashing in the bath.

Inuyasha kneeled next to her, helping with the shampoo. The bathtub was much too small for all of them to fit since it wasn't like the one back at their home. It was an odd situation. He felt like he hadn't been a parent ever in his life. It felt like he had just begun. But Kaida was born two years ago… Had he missed that much because of his childish fears?

Also feeling uncomfortable, she sighed and began to say, "I know how this might feel to you, and I know what you're thinking right now. Please, just trust me. I'm going to help you."

"Keh."

It was already time to dry her up so he grabbed the petite towel from the rack above his head. She handed her to him and he skillfully dried her and dressed her in the normal sleep clothes.

"Tou-chan…" He heard her mumble under her breath, her voice sleepy.

Feeling proud and also surprised at the same time, his eyes gleamed with self-confidence.

"Wanna go to bed!" she began to whine.

As Kagome began to clean the bathtub out of the soap and grime, she motioned to Souta's bedroom to take her to bed. He waited for her to clean it out and they went together to his room.

---

"Souta, is your sister here?" Hitomi (I figured out her name! Well I'm not sure but I'm just guessing. Heh. Somebody tell me her name.) started to say, twirling her finger in her foreign curly locks.

Shifting uncomfortably, he nodded but grinned sheepishly. It's been a while since he saw his girlfriend because of all the cram school (juku) and the clubs after school. Also after that talk he had with his older sister…

"Is something wrong? Souta-kun, you don't look happy…"

"No it's nothing… I was just thinking about the problem. Sorry if I worried you." He sheepishly laughed the uncomfortable feeling off and smiled.

Gathering her books in a corner, she moved her chair closer to him. Her bag was at her side, and her navy blue school uniform skirt wrinkled.

Feeling more cornered by the second, he breathed slowly and his face flushed red. He never felt more embarrassed even after going a bit far with her. She placed her hand on his shoulder, tickling the spot near his armpit.

"Ah, stop that!" he said a little loudly, but gentle enough not to hurt her feelings.

"Souta-kun… I want to kiss you."

His eyes grew wide and he understood her feelings, since she came over and everything just to see him and study together. He knew that he had done this already and it wasn't such a big deal to kiss each other. But, it was somehow still very foreign to him. He wasn't much of a romantic person, and his experience with girls was only with Hitomi, so to end this statement, he was just plain uncomfortable!

"O – oh… Okay," he stuttered, leaning in closer to her.

Her fingers glided against his bare arm, making the small hairs slightly stand up. He shivered involuntarily; making his body tighter than it had been before. Breathing slowly again to calm himself, Souta felt her lips against his neck.

She blew on his lips and licked them, feeling warmth on her cheeks. Feeling his tongue slide in, she fisted his t-shirt and moved her other hand to the small of his back, lightly scraping her fingernails.

Both feeling a little warm in the small room, they moved off the chairs and onto the tatami floor. Her hair sprawled across the tatami and she slightly sat up, unbuttoning his school shirt halfway. When she saw his toned yet lean chest, her desire grew but her embarrassment did too. She ran her fingers through his soft, slightly ragged but straight hair.

It looked like she was in control from his point of view. He sat still, waiting for her soft and smooth touches. Her body was supple and velvety. He felt her explore his back and his chest with mild strokes. They did not speak, because it was not needed to. All he could hear were the muffled sounds outside of the room and their breathing.

His large hand covered her shoulders and he stared at her not knowing what to do next.

She stopped. Breathing hard, she sat up and slumped against him. She felt tired from studying and the… things they had done just now. She glanced at him for a long time.

"Hitomi, did I rush you? Because I knew that we di—

Shushing him, she shook her head 'no' and smiled back.

Feeling a little panicky, he thought he heard the sounds of talking and shuffling across the floor. Trying to gather their things and buttoning his shirt up again, he rushed to cover up their previous moment.

He was positive that he heard his sister trying to open the knob. Now he knew that she really was! In fright and embarrassment, he arranged everything back to normal and made it look like they were just cleaning up.

"Ah, Souta, your girlfriend is here?" Kagome said, her face lighting up. She was holding Kaida in her arms and Inuyasha followed in after her.

"Um, Hitomi, remember when we had that talk about my sister's adventures? Well, you're going to meet a demon… Isn't that exciting?" He fake smiled and sarcastically said the phrase, achieving his sister's anger.

"Soutaa --!"

Hitomi just blushed and sat there, seeing them fight and then realizing they were just kissing in the same room. Fiddling with the hem of her blue pleated skirt, she reached for her bag and didn't talk.

"Pleased to meet you, Kagome-san, Inuyasha-san," she said nervously, standing up and bowing to them.

"I'm glad to meet you too. After all, Souta's been telling me some things about you…"

Now it was his turn to feel like running away.

"E—heheh. Um ok Nee-chan, shut up now…"

His older sister glared back at him and then laughed. She held the drowsy and half-sleeping Kaida and told him that Kaida would be taking a nap in the room and not to disturb her.

"We'll be downstairs so if you two are getting hungry or anything at all, just come down and I'm sure we'll help you." Kagome said reassuringly, smiling the whole time.

"Hey kid, don't get too busy in here…" Inuyasha gave him the look and smirked a little. He obviously knew what was going on before they came into the room by the smell. The girl beside him blushed profusely and hid her face by turning her head down to fix her bag.

---

"Mou, I know that Souta… He's being secretive again. I know that he's doing something!" Kagome scratched at her neck a little, feeling annoyed.

Inuyasha just held in his laugh and began to tell her about the smell in the room. She gasped a little and began to giggle like a schoolgirl.

"They're old enough, we should leave them alone."

He shrugged and moved towards the refrigerator. He could hear footsteps patter on the wooden floor. Kagome started to poke at something on the kitchen counter and sighed softly, examining the sight outside the window.

"Inuyasha, when do you want to go back?"

Shrugging again, he said, "I don't know. Tomorrow?"

"Sure… That will be fine with me too. I think we've gotten everything together. I guess we'll come back here soon anyway," she said, twirling her hair.

"Yeah."

"We should visit Sango and Miroku sometime… I don't think we've seen them much since they're busy with their children," Kagome mentioned, her eyes lighting up.

"Oh. I guess so. Hah, the lecher? Maybe when we visit, there will be new ones to be introduced to…" he chuckled.

She laughed along and began to talk of their memories with them.

- - -

**Author's Note**:

To be continued…

Anyway, I don't even know when the next time I will update, but I'm sure it will not be soon /

Things have gotten busier and busier and I don't know what I'll do with all my stories. Perhaps I will outgrow this later on and I will delete these stories I have worked on and move on, but I'm not really sure right now. For now, please enjoy this story. Thank you for being my readers, I appreciate it. – Miyuki-chan5 8/12


	17. Goodbye, Hello

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Viz, Yomiuri TV, and etc.

**A/N**: I'm BACK.

I'm so sorry that I left all of you guys, my wonderful readers, behind in the dust like this. I've finally gotten my passion to write back and I'm going to start off celebrating with a brand new chapter for this story plus a start to a new story that is also coming soon! If you read my profile it'll have all the information you need to know in there.

Please know that I might be deleting some of the earlier chapters and might be revising and editing them so please be on the lookout. I will also put up an Author's Note if I do so don't worry. I also might be adding some chapters to fill the story out some more (also to end the story with a much fuller plot). So anyway, thanks for all of your support and remember that I will be updating, yet not at such a fast pace. The next up date will possibly be in the next 2 months. Thanks again and remember to R&R.

**Bold** – expression from person speaking, etc.

_Italic_ – thinking process of a character.

(star) - translation on bottom of chapter.

---

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 17

Goodbye, Hello

---

The bright sunlight filtered through the white curtains of Kagome's room. It was Sunday morning, a lazy day for most of the modern era but a busy one for Kagome and Inuyasha.

A sparrow's early morning conversation woke Inuyasha from his deep slumber. He groggily opened his eyes and yawned as he propped his arm to hold his body up in the small bed he and Kagome shared. He looked to his left to see his mate, clutching at the sheets with her hair sprawled across the pillow. Her breathing was slow and relaxed and she had no intention of waking up.

Sighing, Inuyasha realized that he didn't have a choice but to wake her for their trip back home. But the least he could do was by waking her a little more gently than he was used to.

So he hovered over her and leaned in to nuzzle the side of her neck. He almost grinned at the sight of _his_ bite mark on her neck. When she made no movement towards his actions, he carefully delved his hand into the folds of her sleeping yukata she had gotten used to wearing back home in the feudal era and caressed her skin softly.

After hearing a slight moan escape from her parched lips, he chuckled and drew his hand back, hoping she would notice the withdrawal. And Kagome had.

Her eyelashes fluttered and she absently rolled towards his body, putting a cheek to the skin of his bare chest.

"Kagome," he whispered to her ear, hot breath brushing against the hollow of her neck.

She muttered incoherently in his chest and opened one eye, rubbing it to clear her vision. Her mind was foggy and she had no comprehension of what she was doing or seeing. All she could see was a reddish blur before her and almost immediately she thought, _Inuyasha_…

"Morning," she mumbled, sitting upright. She noticed that Inuyasha had the biggest smirk on his face. Growing suspicious, she drew closer to him and looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

He merely remained silent and his smirk eventually faded into a crooked smile. He heard a small sigh come from her lips as she buried herself in his embrace and tried to close her eyes again and fall asleep.

"Don't even try doing that," Inuyasha warned, not wanting to have to wake her up again, although it was fun doing it.

"Alright," she muttered, making a soft sound of annoyance. She brought her head back up and sat up onto the bed. Inuyasha soon followed suit.

Kagome stretched her arms up and sighed, her muscles relieved of the tensions from her mattress and lack of movement throughout the night. She leaned into Inuyasha once again and gave him a chaste kiss. He just chuckled and pressed against her, closing the small space between them.

"Should I wake you up like this everyday?" he murmured, smiling against the skin of her cheek.

"I would love to, but it would take a long time," she joked, fingering with a stray lock of his silver hair.

Just as she reached in for another kiss, the door squeaked and cracked open. Souta stood there, mouth slightly gaped. He blinked for a few seconds and regained his composure.

"Kaida woke me up early this morning and she wants to see you," he mentioned quickly, and led Kaida inside the room. He quickly yelled a 'sorry!" before closing the door and hastily getting back to his room for some much needed rest.

Kagome quickly straightened herself up and smiled as Kaida pounced on top of the bed, snuggling into her mother and then moving towards Inuyasha to hug him.

"Kaa-chan, Tou-chan, ohayo!" Kaida chirped, bouncing on the bed.

Kagome kissed her daughter's forehead and softly said, "Ohayo Kaida." She gently ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, getting the knots out.

"Morning," Inuyasha affectionately nuzzled his hand to Kaida's cheek and leaned against Kagome to achieve more closeness.

"I'm going to help Obaa-chan make breakfast today! We'll wait downstairs." Kaida said enthusiastically, waving as she bounded off down the stairs to help Higurashi-san make breakfast.

Kagome couldn't help but smile as she got out of bed with Inuyasha following right after her. She sighed happily as she began to untie the knot at the back of her yukata, which was holding it all together.

Inuyasha placed a hand over hers and stopped her movement. He looked at her with warm, comforting eyes and said, "I'll do it for you instead."

She nodded and relaxed against his hold, closing her eyes. His quick, nimble fingers untied the small knot and the yukata had begun to slide down her shoulders. All Inuyasha could do was stare at her smooth, pale skin intently as it revealed more and more by the second.

Having grown comfortable to the looks Inuyasha gave her when they were alone, she didn't feel as much of a heat on her cheeks as she had back when they were not much more than friends. The awkwardness between them was pretty much gone but there were still times when she grew embarrassed of things that he did.

Soon, the yukata was gone completely and all Inuyasha could see was the beauty that was left in his view. He felt a heated urge to ravish her but refrained from doing so, as he knew this was not the time to do anything of that nature.

An exaggerated cough brought him back from the depths of his mind and he turned his eyes to Kagome's amused face. "If you're done, then may I get dressed now?" she questioned, lightly giggling.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he nodded, opening a drawer, which he knew she kept her undergarments in. He quickly tossed her a random set and then moved on to the next drawer where there were shirts and whatnot. Again, he chose something arbitrarily yet noticing the color blue and then set it down to give with the bottoms he chose.

"Inuyasha?"

His head turned quickly and he noticed Kagome had dressed in her undergarments giving him yet another sultry look.

"I think I'm going to wear the same jeans from yesterday, thanks for everything else."

He quickly nodded and then nonchalantly handed her the shirt he had picked out earlier. He observed Kagome dressing for a while and then his thoughts drifted to when he could make her his again… They hadn't had the most privacy while they were staying in her time but it was better than nothing at the least. But he couldn't be selfish; Kaida deserved as much attention they could offer, which they hadn't been fulfilling while they were here.

While he had been meddling with his own thoughts, Kagome had disappeared into the bathroom. He could tell by the sounds of water running that she was washing up for the day, he quickly followed suit and then headed down to breakfast.

---

The couple was in front of the well with huge bundles of supplies and food. Kagome's family was there to say goodbye. It had taken a lot of time to organize the stuff they were going to bring.

Kagome stared at her ever-changing family and smiled, reaching out to hug her mother and briefly mentioned when she would be coming back next. Kagome was holding Kaida in a sling like contraption that strapped towards the front and the back.

"Visit soon!" Souta encouraged, waving at them as they reached for their bundles. Mama and Jii-chan smiled and even Buyo gave an appearance for their departure. After everyone said their goodbyes, Inuyasha threw the bundles in and then jumped with his two most precious beings in his arms.

They were greeted by rays of bright, blinding sunlight and a cool breeze that signified the end of summer coming. One by one, Inuyasha heaved the bundles up and then they both climbed out of the well.

Upon their arrival, both demons, father and child, inhaled the clean and fresh air of the time period. It was refreshing to breathe something that was not as metallic and contaminated.

Kagome gathered the things together and grabbed onto two of the heavy bags while Inuyasha carried the rest. He couldn't run with them because they had much too heavy of a load. Their walk was slow, but it wasn't really because of the things they carried but rather the relishing of the thought of 'home'.

Before they had gone back through the well, they all took the time to change back into the clothes of the feudal era. Kagome had reluctantly removed her comfortable jeans to put back the constricting, heavy robes of a miko. She usually avoided wearing hakama bottoms of the color red, seeing the resemblance of Kikyou in herself, so she often wore blue. Going back often meant she couldn't wear the bras of the future and would have to wear those tight chest bindings, if not in the privacy of her own home. There were many inconveniences of this era but she wouldn't start complaining now.

While Kagome was stuck in her thoughts, Inuyasha wondered what their old companions Sango and Miroku were up to. The last time they had seen them was almost six months ago. Sango was pregnant then, it had been her second pregnancy so far after a birth of twins in the first one. They had started with their own lives shortly after Kagome had the pup, perhaps even before. It was a difficult for them to stay together as a group anymore once Kagome had Kaida and they went their separate ways. Shippou, on the other hand was living at their home, so he should expect him to greet him at the door once they reached it. However, he lived there part time and the other half of the time he spent exploring and experiencing a life by himself. He had almost reached maturity (in youkai terms) and was not trapped in a body of a small boy any longer.

What seemed like hours passed, were only several minutes. They had finally reached their home. Kagome sighed happily and then reached to slide the door open. What Inuyasha had expected earlier had come true. Shippou was indeed in the house and was enjoying a nap on the comfortable chair that Kagome had brought back from the future a long while back. His nose twitched as they stepped inside and brought their baggage to the storage area in the back.

Shippou finally decided to open an eye and then smiled widely as he saw Kagome. He walked up to them and greeted them loudly, almost scaring Kaida. Ironically, his first question was if Kagome had any candy.

---

Inuyasha leaned against the front door, waiting for Kagome to bring her gifts for their friends. Kaida held onto her father's haori tightly, her tiny ears swiveling around as she heard all sorts of bustling sounds coming from where Kagome was.

He looked out into the horizon and saw sundown nearing. Sighing he gave a quick yell, "Kagome! Hurry up, we're going to be late."

"Coming!" A muffled voice came down the hall and Kagome finally ran out the door and secured some bags together. Shippou had already gone earlier and was waiting for them.

They started walking down a well worn down path that led from the forest to the village. The quiet silence of nature was soon replaced by the sounds of human activity as they walked down the path. The sun also gradually went down and the sky was dark when they finally reached a comfortable hut that sat in almost the outskirts of the village. However, it was near Kaede's hut, which was near the shrine and not too far from the main center of the village. The family of three approached the reed flap at the front of the home.

Kagome called out first, "Miroku-sama? Sango-chan?"

Two small children ran out the door and bombarded them, "Auntie Kagome, Uncle Inu!" They ran and bumped into Kagome's legs, causing her to almost topple over.

Inuyasha was quick to come to her side and caught her before she fell. "Oi! Watch what you're doing, kid!"

"Now, now, calm down and let your Auntie speak," Miroku came out of the door, shushing the small children. He then caught sight of the two and smiled, offering them to come inside.

Kagome gasped as she slipped her sandals off. "Sango-chan! It's been so long, how are you doing? Where's your new baby?"

Sango looked up from her cooking and quickly stood up, hugging her best friend. "Kagome-chan, I'm fine, and you?" Her attention quickly shifted over to Kaida and Inuyasha and she patted the child's head, "Hello Kaida, how old are you now?"

Kaida smiled, her fangs poking out and replied, "Auntie Sango, I'm almost three!"

Inuyasha chuckled, a smile coming upon his face. "Not quite yet Kaida, you still have a couple of months to go,"

Miroku then approached Inuyasha, patting his shoulder. "It's good to see you, my friend. How has life been with you? Hopefully as happy as I would always expect."

Sighing, Inuyasha gave him a quick reply and they both stepped into the home, joining their respected mates. Quickly looking at the familiar surroundings, Inuyasha sat himself on the hard wooden floor where everyone seemed to be gathered and refused the seat mat that he was offered.

Sango brought a basket closer to the group and scooted near Kagome. She delicately brought the baby and held him out for everyone to see. His soft features were accented by piercing violet eyes that opened when he was being held. A small tuft of hair started to grow and was a dark brown, probably a trait from Sango.

"This is Yukio. He is about three moons old now and now almost four," A gentle look passed through her eyes, "Would you like to hold him?" she held him out to Kagome, who smiled and accepted him, cooing at the little baby.

Kagome caressed Yukio's soft cheek and held him close, observing his beautiful eyes. She absently glanced at Inuyasha and looked at him in want, almost. Although she may be young, she still felt maternal instinct and she was a mother herself. The thought of children just provoked a different side of her in an instant.

Kagome laid Yukio back in the basket and shuffled back to Inuyasha's side. Little did she know, Inuyasha did not miss the look that she had given him and was pondering about what she had wanted. Did she want another child? He could easily give that to her although it could take a couple of tries and it would be nice if they didn't have to fuss with the 'contraceptives' that Kagome always talked him into. He figured it was just a thing that women went through when they saw other children. After all, they did have Kaida.

At that moment, Miroku cleared his throat and then all of the sudden, looked at them seriously. None of them had seen that side of him since the last time they all fought youkai together. He turned to Kagome and Inuyasha and stared past them, seeming in great thought as if he was having an argument in his head about what to say.

Finally he announced, "Although I don't want to say this, I have some bad news. It's been a very, very long time since there has been any rumor about youkai attacking the village for the Shikon no Tama but Kaede has informed me that youkai have rediscovered the tale and overcome their fears. They will come after it once again. However, I do know that Kagome-sama is the protector of the jewel now and I would say she is doing a wonderful job doing so. Yet, it seems that while you were gone, the rumors came up again."

At first, nobody dared to say anything back to him. Sango, who was completely unaware of this, was in shock and her eyes kept darting back between Kagome and Inuyasha's faces. They were as well, in shock. After a few minutes of silence, they came to their senses once again.

Kagome spoke up, her small voice penetrating the thick cloud of uneasiness. "So if I were to purify the jewel and rid of its existence, then this would be solved?"

Miroku pondered on this and replied, "No, I do not think it would be that easy. Even if you did purify it, the youkai will still come after you and at that time, we would have to join together once again and defeat them. But one of the obvious dilemmas of purifying the jewel would be the time traveling between this era and your time…"

Inuyasha then gave Miroku a sharp look and reminded him that this was all too much at once. Kagome would be overwhelmed with the information and would need some time to calm herself emotionally.

The couples tried to ease the seriousness between them and tried not to get the children worried. They sat themselves around the cooking area and quietly ate the dinner Sango had prepared earlier.

After a long talk between all of them and some catching up, Inuyasha, Kagome and Kaida headed for home. Shippou would remain for the night and then go back to his lifestyle in the wilderness for a week or so.

---

The sky was bright with many stars as Kagome sat on the entrance to their private yard/garden. She remained dressed in her usual sleeping garb, a sleeping yukata with a small sash tied around the waist, waited for Inuyasha to put Kaida to sleep. It was his turn today so she stayed in the room next to their dining area, pondering as she looked out to the peaceful nature they had just outside.

The soft padding his feet made as he walked across the room quickly became apparent however she did not move and stayed put at her seat. Inuyasha laid a hand on her shoulder and plopped down next to her, bringing her close to his chest. For a few minutes, they didn't say anything at all.

Hot breath caressed Kagome's ear and was followed by a whisper.

"I didn't miss the look you gave me," Inuyasha placed his lips near her jaw, brushing the soft flesh.

"I know…" Her subdued voice trailed off into the darkness and if it weren't for the dark, he would be seeing a red flush across her face.

"Do you want another pup?" His voice suddenly became husky, and his soft brushes of his lips made her breathing shallow.

"I…I d-don't really know," she shuddered against his touches and almost flinched when he reached into to touch her stomach.

"Do you want your womb to fill up with something of mine? Tell me, Kagome." he taunted her gently, his hand wandering to the curve of her hip.

Kagome looked up at him expectantly, her eyes filled with worry but also deep passion and want. She would give him an answer, one that would satisfy him.

"Yes, Inuyasha I do," her voice wavered, and she continued, "But not now. It's too dangerous. All the things Miroku-sama told us about…" She trailed her sentence off and was again silent.

"I understand." Was his simple answer as he pushed her down to the floor and straddled her.

- - -

**Author's Note**:

To be continued…

Well, that was probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Eight full pages on Microsoft Word! I'm sure other authors have written longer… Anyway, I'm glad to update and again, I'm sorry about the whole year wait. The story is getting better; I now have an actual conflict in here, haha. Did you like the romance? I tried to put it some more mature scenes that I've been meaning to since I've upped the rating. Anyhow, I don't have much time so I'll keep this nice and short. Thanks for reading! – Miyuki-Chan5 12/11/06

Translations:

Ohayo – Good Morning


	18. Underneath the Dreams

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Sunrise, Viz, Yomiuri TV, and etc.

**A/N**: Hey, haven't updated lately (almost a year, my god), but here's a new chapter! I guess I am so lazy or unmotivated…

A lot of you thought that this story ended but it's actually not over yet! Thank you for the review though. Anyway, read on to the chapter.

Please R&R, thanks!

**Bold** – expression from person speaking, etc.

_Italic_ – thinking process of a character. (and flashback if necessary)

(star) - translation on bottom of chapter.

---

Drops of Her Blood

Chapter 18

Underneath the Dreams

---

Kagome sighed happily into the deep azure sky, almost smiling at the puffy white cotton balls that were clouds, and the brilliantly shimmering sunlight that came down to grace her.

Doing laundry wasn't the best chore ever but she would pay to just enjoy the weather and the cool air every morning. The river was cold and fresh as she plunged her long arms into the water and scrubbed course cloth together. There were other women around her, some of the villagers perhaps, but she could care less that they could have been invading her space or stealing her soap.

The atmosphere was perfect after the quiet romantic evening she had with her husband the night before. Although she was getting used to the passionate nature of Inuyasha, she still shivered at the sound of his voice. They woke up on the **tatami** floor of the sitting area of their house with the **shoji** screens wide open. It seemed as though Inuyasha had brought a blanket to the room later on in the night. Her mind wandered off to what they both shared last night…

"_Do you want another pup?" His voice suddenly became husky, and the soft brushes of his lips made her breathing shallow._

"_I…I d-don't really know," she shuddered against his touches and almost flinched when he reached in to touch her stomach._

"_Yes, Inuyasha I do," her voice wavered, and she continued, "But not now. It's too dangerous. All the things Miroku-sama told us about…" She trailed her sentence off and was again silent._

"_If that's what you want, then we'll just spend the most of the time we have together before another one comes along…" he breathed into her neck and she could feel the smug smirk forming with his lips against the soft and sensitive skin near her collarbone._

_As the gentle kisses and tickling ensued, she almost had to bite her lips to keep from screaming out of frustration and nervousness. Her eyes were clenched and her body was stiff from trying not to laugh from the frequent little jabs he made at her stomach and the way it felt like he was removing her clothes._

"_Inuyasha! Stop teasing me!" she gasped out tremulously, almost giggling when his velvety ears brushed against her chin. _

"_Hn? You seem to be enjoying it according to your scent…" he protested jokingly, slipping his fingers through the ties of her yukata and untying it slowly._

_Letting out an exasperated sigh, she gave in to him and proceeded to stare up at the ceiling until he would move more quickly._

_His fingertips neared the scalloped edge of her underwear and he started to pull the tiny garment down little by littl-------..._

"OKAA-CHAN!!" a high voice screeched out of nowhere suddenly filled the depths of Kagome's ears.

It seemed as though Kaida had been pulling on her skirt for a long while now, impatiently trying to get her mother's attention and by now was exasperated. With a frustrated look, she pursed her small pink lips and groaned softly.

"Ah… Sorry Kaida! I was just thinking about something." Kagome nervously laughed. Clearly she had been floating within her own thoughts for a while there.

Kagome smoothed the wet clothes out and dumped them in a neat fold into a wooden bucket. The small bottle of eco friendly detergent was set inside the bucket and she hoisted the heavy load underneath her arm while Kaida held another bag full of wet garments. Laundry would have been so much easier to do in the modern time but they didn't have time to go back and forth so many times a week.

"Come on, let's go back home." She beckoned Kaida to come and reached her hand out to grasp her tiny daughter's fingers.

They walked slowly and languidly, enjoying the green around them and savoring the last bits of summer. The air was cooler now, and it prickled against their skin like needle pins but they would reach a warm house soon… Any moment now…

From a couple of feet away, Kagome could distinctly hear the sound of Inuyasha scurrying around the vicinity, wiping down the floors and beating the shoji doors with a small rag duster. She inwardly chuckled at the thought and proceeded onward into the forest to their humble home.

"Inuyasha! We are home! Please come out," Kagome called out, raising a hand against her cheek to amplify her call.

At the sound of her voice, Inuyasha looked up from what he was doing; wiping the floors around the house.

"Alright… Coming," he got up with a relief and cracked the joints in his shoulders and stretched.

Kagome began to haul the bags of wet laundry they had just cleaned up into the house and dragged the heavy loads onto the veranda. Then she returned back into the house and grabbed some cords and laundry pins.

"Kaida, help me open all of the bags and hand me the clothes." Kagome yelled from the veranda, triggering a response of a reluctant 'Yes' from Kaida.

They began to start hanging all of the laundry on the thick cord which was strung across the veranda. After a few minutes of heavy lifting and pinning, Kagome started to ring out the clothes to release all excess water.

The clothes were still dripping wet and the water accidentally poured all over Kaida's face.

"Okaa-channnn!" Kaida whined, smearing the water as she tried to wipe it all away.

"Sorry…" Kagome patted the little girl's face dry and kissed her cheek lovingly.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha watched the two girls laugh and giggle and then warmly smiled to himself, '_this is the life I wanted'._

Then he proceeded to go back to his work and sighed as he bent over again to wipe the floors.

- - -

The End

- - -

**Author's Note:**

Okay, I think that was the worst ending I could ever give to a story but lately I haven't been feeling any inspiration whatsoever for this piece. I'm probably going to write an epilogue and it is time for this story to come to an end, mostly because it is almost four years old! Believe it or not…

For the next story, I'm probably going to have a set of 30 one-shots that occurred sometime during this story timeline or any random time within the Inuyasha characters. It'll be less time consuming and easier to come up with short one-shots.

Anyway, if there is anybody left from four years ago still reading this story and current readers, I thank you so much for your support and I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

I myself think that I neglected this story completely and the ending probably sucked but it's all I can do for now. I'm very sorry.

Thanks again and remember to R&R!

- Miyuki-Chan5

**Translations:**

Tatami – Traditional mats that made up Japanese flooring. Made of woven straw.

Shoji – A room divider or door made of translucent paper over a wooden frame. They slide open and closed.


End file.
